ImmuPharma not buried yet by lead program's trial failure

Specialist UK drug company ImmuPharma (LSE:IMM) suffered a predictably brutal share market loss of 77% on Tuesday on the back of the publication of trial results for its lupus candidate Lupuzor (forigerimod).

The Phase III trial did not meet its primary endpoint but the company has blamed this on the placebo-effect and stressed that Lupuzor warrants continued investigation.

Lupuzor demonstrated a superior response rate over placebo of 68.8% to 59.2% in the 153 patients who completed the study, and the difference was more significant among those who had anti-dsDNA autoantibodies, a recognized biomarker for systemic lupus erythematosus. Some 7.6% of these patients in the Lupuzor group went into full remission versus none in the placebo group. There were no adverse events reported.