Renovis down on analyst call

RNVS was down $3.90 (23%) to $13.20 on 6.1 million shares on Tuesday following a conference call held by Leerink Swann. On the call, Mark Fisher, professor of neurology and radiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and other experts expressed doubts about the statistical validity of data on the primary endpoint of the Phase III SAINT I trial of Cerovive to treat stroke. The data were presented at the European Stroke Conference in Bologna over the weekend. On the call, although Fisher said he had not actually heard the presentation of the data, he questioned whether there was "some sort of statistical sleight of hand going on."

RNVS President and CEO Corey Goodman told BioCentury, "I think the doctor gave misrepresentations of data he had not seen." Earlier this month, RNVS and partner AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN; AZN) reported that the trial met the primary endpoint of reduction of disability after acute ischemic stroke in the Phase III SAINT I trial (p=0.038). However, there was no significant difference on the main secondary endpoint of change in neurological impairment *(see BioCentury, May 9, 2005). ...