July 6 Quick Takes: Cellectis CAR T trial halted; plus data readouts from Bellus, ObsEva, Idorsia, and more

Patient death prompts Cellectis trial halt
FDA placed a clinical hold on an allogeneic CAR T therapy trial to treat multiple myeloma from Cellectis S.A. (NASDAQ:CLLS; Euronext:ALCLS) after a patient who received the second-level dose of UCARTCS1A “experienced a fatal treatment-emergent adverse event of cardiac arrest.” The gene-edited cell therapy targets SLAMF7. The biotech fell $2.55 (13%) to $16.50 in after-hours trading Monday.

Bellus’ cough therapy misses mark in Phase II
Shares of Bellus Health Inc. (TSX:BLU; NASDAQ:BLU) sagged $8.62 (72%) to $3.40 on NASDAQ Monday after the company said BLU-5937 failed to significantly reduce awake cough frequency vs. placebo in the Phase II RELIEF trial to treat refractory chronic cough, missing the trial’s primary endpoint. The therapy did significantly improve cough frequency in patients with high cough counts at baseline; next quarter, Bellus intends to start an adaptive Phase IIb trial enriched for higher cough count patients. Bellus also plans to start a Phase II trial this half of the P2X3 antagonist to treat pruritus. ...