Pardes Biosciences Inc (PRDS)

[DewDiligence]

PRDS fails phase-2 COVID trial—terminates program:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pardes-biosciences-announces-top-line-120000532.html

Pomotrelvir (a/k/a PBI-0450) did not achieve the primary endpoint as measured by proportion of participants below the limit of detection for infectious SARS-CoV-2 on day 3 by infectious virus assay (IVA) with 70% reaching undetectable levels in the pomotrelvir treated group versus 63% in the placebo group (p=0.57).

Pomotrelvir did not demonstrate meaningful improvement over placebo in reduction from baseline of SARS-CoV-2 infectious virus titer by IVA or in the reduction from baseline or proportion achieving undetectable viral load (RNA) by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) measured from mid-turbinate swabs.

…Based on these results, the Company will suspend further clinical development of pomotrelvir and the Company’s Board of Directors has initiated a review of a range of strategic alternatives that may include, but are not limited to, an acquisition, merger, business combination, or other transaction.

Even if Pomotrelvir had worked, the dosing schedule of 1400mg/day with food (#msg-169951898) was far from ideal.

PRDS had $172M of cash at 3/31/23, so it should be an attractive reverse-merger partner.

p.s. The stock is not down today because it was already trading at only 35% of cash value.