Arbutus falls on HBV program updates

Arbutus Biopharma Corp. (NASDAQ:ABUS) lost $3.09 (34%) to $6 on Tuesday after announcing updates for two of its HBV programs. The move translated to a loss of over $170 million in the company's market cap.

Arbutus said it will delay the start of a Phase I trial of AB-452 due to preclinical safety findings. That trial had been slated to begin this quarter. AB-452 is an orally available HBV RNA destabilizer...