("=Celldex Slumps As Pfizer Pulls Out Of Drug-Development Deal
," at 7:37 a.m. EDT, misstated the company name in the headline.
Here is a corrected version.)
Celldex Therapeutics Inc.'s (CLDX) said it will continue to
develop a brain-tumor vaccine alone after Pfizer Inc. (PFE) decided
to terminate a cooperation pact regarding the treatment.
Shares of Celldex were down 32% to $3.24 in premarket trading
Friday.
The two drugmakers have been working to develop the vaccine,
rindopepimut, since 2008. The drug has shown "significant
improvements" in three mid-stage studies, said Celldex.
Industry giant Pfizer decided to terminate the cooperation as it
told Celldex the program "is no longer a strategic priority," said
Celldex. Starting Nov. 1, Celldex will continue with the drug's
development.
"Rindopepimut is widely perceived by clinicians as one of the
most promising non-toxic drug candidates for a patient population
that has very limited treatment options," said Tom Davis, Celldex's
chief medical officer. "Moving forward, we remain committed to the
brain cancer patient and physician community and to the continued
development of rindopepimut."
The drug deal, first announced in April 2008, put Celldex in
line for some $450 million from Pfizer, plus royalties, if the
vaccine made it to market.
-By Jodi Xu, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3037;
jodi.xu@dowjones.com;