Merck & Co returns rights to Endocyte's vintafolide
Shares of USA-based Endocyte (Nasdaq: ECYT) fell 19.7% to $6.20 in after-hours trading yesterday, after the company announced that it has regained the worldwide rights to vintafolide in all indications from US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK).
Following a comprehensive portfolio assessment, Merck, through a subsidiary, has decided that it will no longer pursue development of vintafolide. Just last month, Merck and Endocyte withdrew their European marketing approval application for the drug, after an independent monitoring board said that the PROCEED trial with vintafolide in combination with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) versus PLD alone did not meet the pre-specified criteria for progression-free survival in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer to allow continuation of the study.
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