GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) (GSK), Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (INO), ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ISIS): This Week in Biotech

Trailing not too far behind Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) in the loss column was ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI), which fell 25% on the week after releasing uninspiring top-line results for CCX140, a mid-stage therapy to treat diabetic nephropathy. The top-line data demonstrated that ChemoCentryx’s CCR2 inhibitor delivered a 12% reduction in kidney protein levels at the 5mg dose, compared with a 1% rise in the placebo after 12 weeks, and an 8% reduction at the 10mg dose after 12 weeks. Investors’ disappointment in the company comes from ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI)’s failure to meet its own preconceived expectations of achieving a 20% drop in kidney protein levels on the top line. Not all hope is lost, though, as the trial is still ongoing and it may prove successful in helping a predefined subset of patients, but it’s nonetheless been an abysmal past couple of weeks for ChemoCentryx shareholders.

Finally, female infertility drugmaker OvaScience did its best double-digit swan dive, shedding 24% of its value on the week, after announcing the suspension of U.S. drug trials for Augment in the United States. The reason behind the halt for its drug, which designed to improve egg quality and in vitro fertilization success, relates to the receipt of an untitled letter from the FDA. In that letter, the FDA questions the status of Augment as a 361 HCT/P (an FDA regulation governing human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products) and suggested OvaScience file an investigational new drug application for Augment in the United States. A meeting is expected soon between the company and the FDA to hash out what the next step will be for Augment. In the meantime, OvaScience is continuing development of the drug outside the United States.

The article This Week in Biotech originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.