Trial hold delays Concert in race for first alopecia treatment

Shares in USA-based Concert Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CNCE) dropped 10% before rallying slightly, as stockholders learned the company’s clinical trial into hair loss candidate CTP-543 has been put on hold by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The news came as the company was preparing to dose subjects in the Phase IIa trial. Now Concert will have to wait for the agency to review certain “recently completed non-clinical toxicology studies.”

The company notes that the FDA did not cite a safety concern. It will submit the requested non-clinical study reports promptly, which will be reviewed in respect of the planned one-year dosing duration.