Gemphire crashes after it halts gemcabene study due to 'unanticipated problems'

13 August 2018

Shares of Gemphire Therapeutics (Nasdaq: GEMP) tanked as much as 73% in premarket trading Friday after the company revealed the termination of a clinical trial of gemcabene. The stock closed the day down 44.95% at $1.80.

Gemphire said that the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) at Emory University School of Medicine overseeing the investigator-led open label Phase IIa proof-of-concept trial evaluating gemcabene in pediatric patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has recommended that the trial be terminated due to unanticipated problems.

Earlier in the week, the company announced it had amended an agreement with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). Under the 2011 deal, as amended, Pfizer has the right to terminate the license if the first commercial sale has not occurred by April 2024.

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