Inovio plunges as FDA puts clinical hold on VGX-3100 trial

USA-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: INO) saw its shares tank, after it announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has placed a clinical hold on its proposed Phase III clinical program for VGX-3100, its investigation therapeutic vaccine for cervical dysplasia caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).

Inovio’s shares were trading down about 17% at $6.96 Monday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $20.33 and a 52-week trading range of $4.50 to $11.69, according to 24/7 WallSt.

A clinical hold is a notification issued by the FDA to a trial sponsor to delay a proposed clinical trial or suspend an ongoing clinical trial. This study has not yet been initiated and has not enrolled or dosed subjects. Additionally, the hold does not pertain to any of Inovio’s other ongoing clinical studies.