Ziopharm slides on news of patient deaths

Ziopharm Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ:ZIOP) lost $0.66 (12%) to $5.01 on Friday after it reported three patient deaths in a Phase I study of Ad-RTS-hIL-12 to treat recurrent or progressive glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) or grade III malignant glioma.

The company said one death due to intracranial hemorrhage "has just been reported," and Ziopharm is still analyzing the case. Ziopharm said the other two deaths were both due to disease progression and were unrelated to the therapy...