Adaptimmune slips after updating ovarian cancer study

Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:ADAP) said it amended the preconditioning regimen of a Phase I/IIa study of its NY-ESO SPEAR T cell therapy to treat ovarian cancer after the company observed no objective clinical responses in the study's first iteration. The company fell $0.55 to $6.01 on Wednesday.

Under the amended protocol, patients are to receive fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide rather than cyclophosphamide alone as a preconditioning regimen. The company said fludarabine "appears to be required for expansion, response and persistence of transduced cells." ...