Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDX)
Celldex Therapeutics shares dropped 63% on Monday following an announcement that the company’s lead drug glembatumumab vedotin had failed to meet its primary purpose.
Celldex was hoping the drug would demonstrate better treatment above that of rival company (Roche) Xeloda in treating patients with triple negative breast cancer. Glembatumumab vedotin was in phase 2b trial, where it was being investigated for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.
The company said that the drug did not show any important benefits in terms of duration of response, overall response rate, or survival. The biopharmaceutical company has decided to cease the drug’s program across all indications after the disappointing outcome.
CLDX Earnings & Outlook
Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. reported its fourth quarter earnings results on March 7. During the quarter, the company reported $-0.03 earnings per share or a net loss of $3.8 million compared to $0.30 earnings per share in the same period a year ago.
Total revenue for the quarter was $3.5 million compared to $1.9 million in the same period last year. Celldex EPS and revenue beat the consensus analyst estimate by $0.22 and $2.11 million, respectively.
Total revenue for fiscal year 2017 stood at $12.7 million during compared to $6.8 for in fiscal 2016. Earnings per share for the year stood at $-0.72. Celldex is expected to report the first quarter earnings for fiscal 2018 on May 8.
CLDX CEO Comments
Anthony Mariucci, Celldex’s Chief Executive Officer said that it is extremely hard to cure triple-negative breast cancer and the company was frustrated that the METRIC Study had not been fruitful. “Based on these results, we have also made the decision to discontinue the glembatumumab vedotin program across all indications and are currently prioritizing our pipeline, which includes five candidates in ongoing clinical studies. In line with this, we are evaluating our operational and workforce needs. Once we solidify these plans, we intend to update investors,” Mariucci added.
Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. Company profile
Celldex Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, that focuses on developing and commercializing various immunotherapy technologies to treat cancer and other ailments.
After abandoning Glembatumumab vedotin, its lead drugs now include Varlilumab and Rintega. Varlilumab is an immune antibody modular developed to improve the immune response of a patient against their cancer while rintega is a therapeutic vaccine, currently in clinical studies for the cure of glioblastoma patients.
The company was incorporated in 1983 and is based in Hampton, New Jersey. Celldex competes with Bayer, Novartis, AbbVie, Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc., and Arbor Pharmaceutics, Inc. –Reuters
