What happened?
Shares of BiondVax Pharmaceuticals (BVXV 0.88%) closed Friday's trading session down by a whopping 86.3%, after plunging by as much as 90.5% earlier in the day. Investors sold off shares of the biopharmaceutical company after it reported negative results from a phase 3 clinical trial.
So what
BiondVax Pharmaceuticals is developing a potential stand-alone universal flu vaccine, M-001. In a pivotal clinical trial, the company tested M-001's safety and efficacy at reducing flu illness and severity. However, the experimental vaccine failed to meet both its primary and secondary efficacy endpoints during the trial, much to the dismay of BiondVax Pharmaceuticals. CEO Ron Babecoff said:
The significant need for better, more proactive flu protection is well-understood by clinicians and public health experts around the world, and we have devoted many years in pursuit of this worthy goal. Unfortunately, this study did not have the efficacy outcomes that we anticipated for M-001 on a stand-alone basis.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
BiondVax Pharmaceuticals currently has no products on the market and does not generate any revenue. The healthcare company is running other clinical studies for M-001, but the results it announced today were from its most advanced trial. Investors were hoping M-001 would go on to make a dent in the market as a stand-alone flu vaccine, but these hopes are now all but gone. Given these factors, it's not surprising that BiondVax Pharmaceuticals' stock cratered today.