BOSTON (Thomson Financial) - Shares of EpiCept Corp. plummeted Thursday
after the Tarrytown, N.Y.-based pharmaceutical company said a "slight" majority
vote by members of the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use
(CHMP) did not favor recommending the company's cancer drug, Ceplene, for the
maintenance of remission and prevention of relapse in patients with Acute
Myeloid Leukemia (AML).
The stock tumbled 26% to $1.10 on volume of 363,000 shares, nearly three
times the issue's 30-day average volume of 125,000 shares.
The company recently presented an oral explanation to the CHMP and the
scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) and while the
majority of the CHMP considered the data presented supportive of the product's
efficacy and safety in AML, the committee said the data should be confirmed by
further clinical data from an additional, replicate study.
"We are disappointed with the results," EpiCept said. "As we head towards a
final vote on the marketing authorization application next month, we are
assessing potential options to gain approval and, if the final opinion is
negative, whether that decision should be appealed."
Greg Saulnier
gs/vj
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content,
including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of Thomson Financial News.
|