Aridis ends AR-105 development after trial failure

Infectious diseases company Aridis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARDS) closed down nearly 7% on Tuesday following the failure of AR-105 in a Phase II study in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) caused by gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The study did not meet its primary endpoint of demonstrating superiority in clinical cure rates on day 21 compared to placebo.

There was a statistically-significant imbalance in all-cause mortality, as well as serious adverse event (SAE) rates between treatment groups that favored placebo, but no SAE or mortality was deemed to be drug-related by the study investigators or the Data Monitoring Committee.