AEterna Zentaris and Keryx shares tank as cancer drug flops in Ph III

Canadian drug developer AEterna Zentaris (TSX: AEZ) and US licensee Keryx Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq: KERX) both saw their shares plummet after revealing that their colorectal cancer drug candidate had failed in a late-stage clinical trial.

Keryx stock lost two-thirds of its value and fell to a nearly two-and-a-half-year-low of $1.63 in early trade on Monday to become the biggest percentage loser on the Nasdaq, commented Reuters, while AEterna's shares plunged 67% to a two-year-low ofC$0.69 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

AEterna announced yesterday that the Phase III "X-PECT" (Xeloda + perifosine Evaluation in Colorectal cancer Treatment) clinical trial evaluating perifosine + capecitabine (Xeloda) in patients with refractory advanced colorectal cancer did not meet the primary endpoint of improving overall survival versus capecitabine + placebo. The trial involving 468 patients in 65 sites in the US was conducted by Keryx Biopharmaceuticals.