(Reuters) -Alector said on Tuesday its experimental drug failed to slow the progression of a rare form of dementia in a late-stage trial, prompting the company to end the study and cut nearly half its workforce.
Shares of the company fell over 55% in extended trading.
The drug, latozinemab, was being tested in people with frontotemporal dementia caused by mutations in the progranulin gene, a condition that leads to an early and severe cognitive decline.
The 96-week trial, conducted with partner GSK, showed no clinical benefit in slowing disease progression as measured using a common scale, although the drug did raise levels of a key protein in the blood.
Alector said it will stop the open-label extension and continuation studies of latozinemab.
The company is reducing its workforce by about 49%, or 75 employees, as part of a restructuring plan, which is expected to cost $7.7 million.
Alector said it will now concentrate on other experimental treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, including programs using its proprietary technology to deliver drugs across the blood-brain barrier.
The company said it had about $291.1 million in cash and investments at the end of September, enough to fund operations through 2027.
(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
Comments