Raptor Pharma says may discontinue development of liver drug

Shares of Raptor Pharmaceuticals plunged 35.5 percent in premarket trading today. The company has a market cap of $977 million and there are 81,180,000 shares in outstanding.

The trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of RP103 in children with biopsy-confirmed NASH. The hope was that patients taking RP103 would experience a “two point decrease in NAFLD Activity Score (NAS) and no worsening of fibrosis”, according to the company’s press release. There were no differences in adverse events observed in children on RP103 contrast to placebo.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, co-sponsored the trial.

In a statement, Raptor President Julie Anne Smith expressed disappointment on the outcome of the trial.

Shares of the Novato, California-based company had risen 14 percent this year. Nonetheless, she said that the company remains devoted to the development of treatments for people who were diagnosed with rare diseases. RP103 is the company’s name for cysteamine bitartrate.

Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. (NASDAQ:RPTP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th.

Many other pharmaceutical companies including Gilead Sciences Inc and Intercept Pharmaceuticals are also working on projects for treatment of NASH. It’s used to treat nephropathic cystinosis, which diminishes the ability of cells to clear waste products. A total of 8 funds closed their positions in Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp and 7 reduced their holdings. Company shares. In the past six months, there is a change of -23.4% in the total insider ownership. After the session commenced at $8.89, the stock reached the higher end at $9.06 while it hit a low of $6.8201. The 50-day moving average is $40.94 and the 200 day moving average is recorded at $41.37. S&P 500 has rallied 1.23% during the last 52-weeks. FBR Capital fixed their price target at $16. The stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $17.89. They set a buy rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Its development for Huntington’s disease and mitochondrial diseases in ongoing.

Raptor Pharmaceutical Corporation is pulling the plug on an experimental drug as treatment for a liver disease. On the date of report, the stock closed at $11.99. Jefferies LLC, Cowen and Company, LLC and Barclays Capital Inc. are acting as joint book-runners for the offering.

The drug fell way below this goal at the conclusion of this study.