Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Speedel Holding AG stopped testing an experimental diabetes drug on safety concerns. The Swiss drugmaker's shares lost almost a fourth of their value.
The tests were halted following the advice of an independent panel after patients taking the medicine showed too much fluid retention, the Basel, Switzerland company said today. The treatment, known as Avosentan, may show promise for other ailments and Speedel will announce what it intends to do with the medicine by the middle of next year.
``We're confident the drug still has potential,'' Chief Executive Officer Alice Huxley said in a telephone interview.
Speedel shares fell as much as 23 percent. The company, which first sold shares on the Swiss exchange last year, now has one drug left in the last stage of clinical trials, a blood pressure medicine developed with Novartis AG known as Tekturna.
``It's a big blow,'' said Markus Metzger, an analyst at Bank Vontobel AG in Cologne, Germany. ``Tekturna is more important than ever now.''
Speedel stands to gain royalties on sales of the blood pressure drug. Novartis said last week that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration delayed approval of the medicine to examine safety data. Tekturna may be cleared by the first quarter of next year, Huxley said today.
New Drugs, New Risks
Speedel shares fell 22.3 Swiss francs, or 11 percent, to 170.8 francs at 11:37 a.m. in Zurich after dipping as low as 148 francs. They have gained 21 percent since the company first sold the stock last year.
``It was well known that this was a risky project, but the side effect problem was not necessarily one that could have been foreseen,'' Vontobel's Metzger said.
Speedel may change the design of the trial once it has found a way to manage the fluid retention problem, Huxley said. The company can fund research and development spending through the second quarter of 2008, according to Nick Miles, head of investor relations.
…``We're pushing the boundaries of medicine further and further,'' Huxley said. ``If you're at the forefront of innovation then you're the first to take the risk and learn the lesson. But you can turn a bitter pill into an advantage.'' <<
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