Costa Mesa drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said Tuesday a late-stage trial for its key hepatitis C drug proved the treatment safer but not as effective than the standard treatment for the liver disease.
The results are a big blow to Valeant, which has pinned high hopes on Viramidine as a replacement for its fading flagship ribavirin, the bellwether treatment for hepatitis C.
Investors punished Valeant’s shares on the news, sending them down as much as 20% in early trading Tuesday. They closed off 14%.
The drug maker counts a market value of $1.4 billion.
Valeant tested Viramidine for use with pegylated interferon for hepatitis C patients.
Ribavirin and pegylated interferon are the main treatment for hepatitis C. But ribavirin’s sales have fallen amid generic competition.
The ribavirin combination treatment also carries side effects that Valeant was seeking to avoid with Viramidine.
The company said the trial results were hurt by the effect of lower dosages of the drug and other statistically inconsistent results. Patients who were on a higher dose of Viramidine had a better response, the company said.
Valeant said it is conducting a second late-stage clinical trial and will continue to work toward commercializing Viramidine before the end of 2007.
