Derma Sciences scraps trial, mulls sale

Derma Sciences (NSDQ:DSCI) said today it would evaluate all options, including a sale, after scrapping a trial of its aclerastide drug for diabetic foot ulcers.

DSCI shares plunged as much as 31%, dropping under their 6-year low today. The company makes wound care and regenerative medicine products. Aclerastide was its only drug candidate.

Princeton, N.J.-based Derma Sciences said an independent futility analysis concluded that the trial would not meet its primary endpoint of confirmed complete wound closure of the target ulcer within 12 weeks of the start of treatment.

“We are very disappointed with the findings of the analyses of the DMC, but are grateful for the support and commitment from the participating patients and the study investigators,” chairman & CEO Edward Quilty said in prepared remarks. “We have stopped further enrollment and initiated an orderly termination of the aclerastide trials and program, which we believe will be substantially complete by year end. We are also halting all development work with DSC127 in scar reduction and radiation dermatitis.”

The company has three units: Advanced wound care, pharmaceutical wound care and traditional wound care. Advanced and traditional wound care products generated total net sales $22.2 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30. The decision, expected to cost about $2 million, ends a $5 million-per-quarter cash burn from the aclerastide R&D program, the company said. As of Sept. 30, Derma Sciences had $49.4 million of cash and cash equivalents and $12 million of long-term investments.

Roth Capital Partners analyst Scott Henry, who’d given the aclerastide program a 50% chance of success, said the scrapping of the drug program came as a surprise.

“We give zero value to this program going forward,” Henry wrote today in a note to investors.

DSCI shares were down -28.21% to $4.02 apiece today in mid-afternoon trading.

Material from Reuters was used in this report.

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