Vical plummets after dropping Allovectin

Vical Inc. (NASDAQ:VICL) fell $2.05 (58%) to $1.53 on Monday after discontinuing development of Allovectin velimogene aliplasmid, which was in Phase III testing for metastatic melanoma and was the company's most advanced unpartnered program. The discontinuation came after top-line data from the Phase III AIMM trial showed intralesional Allovectin missed the primary endpoint of improving objective response rate (ORR) at 24 weeks or more and missed the secondary endpoint of improving overall survival (OS) vs. standard chemotherapy consisting of either dacarbazine or temozolomide in chemotherapy-naïve patients with recurrent stage III or IV metatstatic melanoma. Allovectin is a DNA plasmid encoding major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I B7 (HLA-B7) complexed with lipid.

AnGes MG Inc. (Tokyo:4563), which has exclusive rights to market Allovectin in Japan, China and certain other Asian countries, could not be reached for comment. The news came after market close in Japan, where AnGes was off Y2,900 to Y125,600. ...