Polyphor valuation cut in half on halted Phase IIIs of antibiotic murepavadin

Polyphor lost CHF12.27 (48%) to CHF13.38 on Friday after announcing late Thursday that it suspended enrollment in a pair of Phase III trials of pneumonia antibiotic murepavadin (POL7080) after observing a higher-than-expected incidence of acute kidney injury in the active arm of one of the trials.

According to Polyphor Ltd. (SIX:POLN) Chief Medical and Development Officer Frank Weber, 40 patients with evaluable data had so far been enrolled in the Phase III PRISM-MDR trial. Of the 32 patients in the murepavadin arm, 18 (56%) experienced an acute kidney injury, above the expected background incidence rate of 25-40%. Weber said 41% of the 18 patients had stage 2 or 3 acute kidney injury as classified by the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria. He said the control arm was within the expected range, with two of eight patients experiencing an acute kidney injury...