By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Aligos Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALGS) shares closed Thursday's session down over 57% after it told investors it has halted further development of its drug candidate to treat chronic hepatitis B.
The company said it decided to halt development based on emerging data from its phase 1 study, which indicates that there is no meaningful hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAG) reduction at projected dose levels.
Furthermore, the company said higher doses levels intended to be assessed in the following studies are unlikely to reach the HBsAg reduction level that Aligos had defined as necessary to advance the program.
The company said in a statement that "based on this information, Aligos management reviewed the data with members of the study’s Study Review Committee (SRC) and jointly concluded that these data were not sufficient to support further development of ALG-010133 and that dosing should be discontinued."
Lawrence Blatt, chairman and CEO of Aligos, said, "We are disappointed that the antiviral activity data from this study indicate that ALG-010133 cannot meaningfully contribute to achieving functional cures in CHB.
“Hepatitis B is a very challenging virus that will likely require combination regimens involving distinct mechanisms of action (MOAs) in order to achieve functional cure."
Piper Sandler reacted to this morning's news by saying that the update was discouraging, but they are keeping an overweight rating. meanwhile, Jefferies downgraded the sock to hold from buy.