Setback for JCAR015 sees Juno Therapeutics shares plummet

Shares of US biotech firm  Juno Therapeutics (Nasdaq: JUNO) plunged as much as 44%, before recovering to $21.56 for a 27,8% slide by late morning New York trading, after it announced another setback for its leukemia drug candidate.

Juno said that that it has voluntarily placed on hold the Phase II clinical trial of JCAR015 in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, known as the “ROCKET” trial. The clinical hold was initiated after two patients suffered cerebral edema earlier this week. One patient died and as of last night the other is not expected to recover, the company said.

Juno has notified the Food and Drug Administration of the voluntary hold and is working with the agency and the Data and Safety Monitoring Board to determine next steps. The company is assessing data from the cases and the trial and is evaluating its options regarding the JCAR015 program.