News of a new licensing deal with Eli Lilly couldn't stop the market rout that took place this morning after United Therapeutics reported that the oral formulation of its pulmonary arterial hypertension drug failed to meet its primary endpoint in a late-stage clinical trial. Its stock plunged 32 percent ahead of the opening.
United Therapeutics said it would pay $150 million to Lilly for the rights to sell the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis as a hypertension therapy. The FDA is currently reviewing the application for the new use of Cialis. United Therapeutics makes the intravenous hypertension drug Remodulin and has been working on a new, oral formulation of that drug. Interim results were released today with full results expected in March.
"While we are disappointed we did not achieve a statistically significant result for the primary endpoint, we believe the results fully support the continued development of oral treprostinil (Remodulin) especially when the treatment effect is evaluated based on the dose achieved in the Freedom C study," said COO Roger Jeffs.
- view United Therapeutics' statement
- read the AP report on the licensing deal
- check out the AP story on the trial results