What happened
Shares of Vir Biotechnology (VIR 7.86%) were down more than 44% as of 10:45 a.m. on Thursday after the company announced phase 2 trial results for an influenza A therapy candidate. The stock is down more than 49% so far this year.
So what
Vir focuses on immunology therapies to treat infectious diseases. Its only marketed product, Sotrovimab, is an early treatment for COVID-19 that it collaborated with GSK on, but sales of that therapy have been declining.
In a release before the markets opened on Thursday, Vir said that VIR-2482 failed to meet primary or secondary efficacy endpoints as a therapy to treat influenza A illness in a phase 2 trial. The therapy was given to roughly 3,000 participants and the company said among those who received the highest dose of VIR-2482 (1,200 milligrams), a non-statistically significant reduction of approximately 16% in influenza A illness was found.
The biotech has a good-sized pipeline, but making the trial failure more disappointing is that VIR-2842 is its only wholly owned candidate. Its other 10 pipeline programs are all part of collaborations with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Brii Biosciences, or the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Now what
The setback is a big deal, but Vir does have several other therapies in phase 2 trials. The company said it expects readouts for its hepatitis B and hepatitis D programs later this year. In both programs, the company is testing monoclonal antibodies VIR-2218 and VIR-3434, sometimes in combination.
In the first quarter, Vir reported it had $63 million in revenue, down 96.2% year over year. It also said it lost $1.06 in earnings per share (EPS), compared to positive EPS of $3.93 in the same period last year. In Thursday's announcement, the company said it had $1.9 billion in cash, enough at its current burn rate to probably last into 2027.
