Chimerix, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMRX)
Chimerix, Inc. (CMRX), a biopharmaceutical company yesterday announced that its Phase 3 trial of SUPPRESS did not achieve its primary endpoint. The SUPPRESS trial was for brincidofovir in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation. The study did show reduction of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during the first 14 weeks consistent with the phase 2 study numbers. However during weeks 14 to 24, there was an increase in CMV infections of those patients using brincidofovir versus the control group.
Chimerix, Inc. CEO’s Comments
“While we are clearly disappointed in the top-line results from SUPPRESS, we remain committed to better understanding the full data set as we consider potential paths forward for brincidofovir,” said M. Michelle Berrey, M.D., MPH, President and CEO of Chimerix. “With a strong cash position, an experienced leadership team, and brincidofovir patent exclusivity through 2034, we continue to believe there is a viable path forward for the development of brincidofovir.” Globe Newswire
CMRX Technical Analysis
CMRX gapped down in price yesterday to $7.85, down from the prior day’s close of $35.57, which is a 77% decrease on unfavorable news. Taking a look at the daily chart, we can see that we are in unchartered territory as CMRX has gapped down to all time lows. Biopharmaceutical companies stock prices are very sensitive to any information regarding their drug studies especially if they are unexpected. CMRX does have a float of 42.02 million shares and is trading over 21 times the normal daily trading volume. CMRX opened right at the pre market lows. For trading purposes, my entry point would have been short at $7.80 looking for a run down to $7.00. My stop loss would have been $7.90, fearing anything above that and the stock would start to fill in the gap down.
Company Profile
Chimerix, Inc., incorporated on April, 07, 2000, is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel, oral antiviral therapeutics that are designed to transform patient care in areas of high unmet medical need. Its lipid technology has given rise to two clinical-stage compounds, CMX001 and CMX157, which have demonstrated the potential for enhanced antiviral activity and safety in convenient, orally administered dosing regimens. CMX001 is an orally administered drug that utilizes its lipid technology to deliver intracellular concentrations of a potent antiviral compound, cidofovir-diphosphate (CDV-PP). Following oral dosing, CMX001 is absorbed through the gut, remains intact in the plasma, and is readily taken up by and delivered into cells. Once inside cells, CMX001 is converted into CDV-PP, which acts as an alternative substrate in a replicating virus. CMX001 is similar to the drug cidofovir in that both drugs are converted into CDV-PP once inside cells. Although cidofovir is approved for administration in an intravenous formulation, Vistide, it requires a plasma concentration to deliver a therapeutic level of cidofovir into cells and its use is limited due to the risk of kidney damage. CMX157, Its second clinical stage compound, is an oral nucleotide compound in Phase 1 development for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. In July 2012, the Company granted Merck an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize CMX157 for all human uses. Merck is responsible for all development and marketing activities for CMX157 on a worldwide basis. Reuters
