Cytokinetics skids after ALS drug fails in study

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Cytokinetics lost more than half their value Friday after the drug developer said an experimental treatment for Lou Gehrig's disease failed to slow the fatal condition's progression more than a placebo in a clinical trial.

Cytokinetics is studying tirasemtiv as a treatment for Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Its midstage clinical trial compared the effects of tirasemtiv to a placebo on a scale that measured patients' symptoms.

Shares of Cytokinetics Inc. dropped $7.96, or 61.3 percent, to $5.03 in morning trading. Earlier the stock fell to $4.96, its lowest price since January 2013.

Lou Gehrig's disease is a fatal neurological disorder that degrades the body's ability to move, speak and ultimately to breathe. There is currently has no cure or treatment that halts or reverses the condition. Cytokinetics says there are about 25,000 people in the U.S. and similar numbers in Europe, and patients typically live three to five years after diagnosis.

"It appears that this is game over for this drug, at least in ALS," said Cowen & Co. analyst Simos Simeonidis. Simeonidis said investors will now focus solely on the company's drug omecativ mecarbil. He said Cytokinetics and its partner Amgen Inc. expect to report results from a study of that drug in 2015.

He has an "Outperform" rating on shares of the South San Francisco, Calif., company.

Omecativ mecarbil is an experimental treatment for heart failure. In 2013 the companies said the drug didn't meet its goals in a clinical trial.