Shares of La Jolla Pharmaceutical plummeted Feb. 12 after the company said its experimental lupus drug Riquent failed to meet its goals in a late-stage study.
The company’s stock, traded under the symbol LJPC on the Nasdaq, fell almost 90 percent to 26 cents after the opening bell.
The news came as a major setback to La Jolla Pharmaceutical, but it is not an unusual occurrence in the industry, where developing an effective lupus drug has proven difficult. The potentially fatal disease wreaks havoc on the body, causing its immune system to attack tissues and organs.
Independent data monitors who took a look at interim efficacy data on Riquent said running further tests would prove “futile.”
Riquent, its only clinical-stage drug candidate, was being co-developed with BioMarin Pharmaceutical.
, Heather Chambers
