What happened
Shares of ProKidney (PROK -21.77%) were down more than 33% as of 2 p.m. ET on Thursday. The healthcare stock is down more than 64% so far this year.
So what
ProKidney is a clinical-stage biotech company that focuses on the treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD). There were two things that helped drive the stock down on Thursday. First, the news on Wednesday that Novo Nordisk weight loss and diabetes drug Ozempic (semaglutide) did well in trials to prevent chronic kidney disease (CKD) negatively hit a lot of dialysis companies and companies such as ProKidney with CDK therapies.
The other factor that brought the stock's shares down was that Chamath Palihapitiya, one of the company's largest shareholders, sold 277,627 shares over the past two weeks, worth roughly $1.23 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. Palihapitiya is a venture capitalist and founder of the firm Social Capital.
Now what
The amount that positive trial news regarding Ozempic drove down other stocks seemed a bit overblown. Ozempic will not wipe out CKD, even if approved for that indication. However, it could certainly cut into ProKidney's future revenue or even injure the chances for approval for ProKidney's lead product candidate, REACT (Renal Autologous Cell Therapy). REACT is a cell therapy made from a patient's own renal cells. It is designed to end the need for kidney dialysis by reversing kidney disease in type 2 diabetics and is in phase 3 trials.
There's enough risk here to stay away from the stock for now. The company had no revenue as of the second quarter, a net loss of $34.8 million in the quarter, and $446 million in cash.