Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

SBPH—(-58%)—terminates Inarigivir HBV program (for all practical purposes):

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spring-bank-stops-dosing-inarigivir-110010840.html

Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals…today announced that the company has stopped dosing and enrolling patients in its Phase 2b CATALYST trials, which are examining the use of inarigivir soproxil 400mg for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV). In addition, the company has stopped dosing and enrollment in all other studies of inarigivir in subjects with chronic HBV.

The decision to stop the dosing of inarigivir 400mg in the Phase 2b CATALYST trials was due to clinical findings observed in the CATALYST 2 trial of virally-suppressed chronic HBV patients. Laboratory findings revealed that three subjects participating in this trial showed evidence of hepatocellular dysfunction and an elevation of alanine transaminase (ALT) potentially consistent with liver injury rather than immune flares. The company is investigating and analyzing the data to gain a better understanding of the findings and potential causes thereof and is further evaluating safety data across the almost 100 patients who have received inarigivir at this dose.

I wasn’t expecting much, if anything from this program—see, for instance, #msg-148213028.