Allos falls after earnings, Folotyn data

Allos Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTH) fell $0.87 (15%) to $4.83 on Wednesday after reporting 2Q10 financial results and data from a Phase IIb trial of Folotyn pralatrexate to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Allos reported net Folotyn sales of $7.9 million, short of the $11 million expected by the Street. Allos launched the small molecule dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) inhibitor in January to treat relapsed or refractory peripheral T cell lymphoma (PTCL).

Separately, Allos said the drug reduced the risk of death by 16% and 13% in the overall patient (n=201) and the primary efficacy analysis populations (n=166), respectively, compared to daily Tarceva erlotinib. Allos said the trial was not powered to detect statistical significance between treatment arms. The company did say positive trends in overall survival were seen in favor of Folotyn in all predefined patient cohorts, except in patients with squamous cell carcinoma and patients who received prior treatment with Alimta pemetrexed. The open-label, international study enrolled patients with stage IIIb/IV NSCLC who had received one or two prior systemic treatments, including at least one prior platinum-based regimen. ...