Juno scraps CAR-T therapy after patient deaths

3 March 2017

USA-based biotech firm Juno Therapeutics (Nasdaq: JUNO) has called a halt to development of its experimental CAR-T therapy known as JCAR015.

Shares in the company shed 10% of their value overnight following the announcement, which was made as part of Juno’s annual financial statement. The share price rose but fell again in trading Thursday, ending the day where it began at $22.62.

The decision to scrap the novel anticancer therapy comes after five patients died from cerebral oedema. While the number of deaths was not unusually high for a trial of this type, the fact that all the deaths were due to brain swelling suggested a new adverse side effect.

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