Vical discontinuing HSV-2 program after Phase II miss

Vical Inc. (NASDAQ:VICL) sank $0.43 (26%) to $1.20 on Monday after the company said it will discontinue development of VCL-HB01 after the HSV-2 vaccine missed the primary endpoint in a Phase II trial.

VCL-HB01 is a plasmid DNA vaccine that encodes the HSV-2 glycoprotein D and tegument protein VP11/12 (UL46) formulated with the Vaxfectin lipid adjuvant. The placebo-controlled trial enrolled 261 adults with recurrent, symptomatic genital HSV-2 infection...