This isn’t a huge surprise. The company says its heart drug, AGI-1067, failed to reach its primary goal in a Phase III study of 6,127 patients, although it reduce a combination of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke. Complete findings will be released this weekend at the American College of Cardiology meeting.

“We’re obviously disappointed we didn’t meet the primary endpoint,” says Russell Medford, AtheroGenics’ ceo, “but we are optimistic about the results of the trial and we do look forward to continuing development of what we think is an important drug with the goal of improving patient care.”

The drug was tested for reducing plaque and prevent serious cardiovascular events in people at risk of heart disease. If successful, some analysts saw a blockbuster capable of generating up to $5 billion in annual sales. But skepticism ran high. Investors bet against the data with 51 percent of the company’s 39.5 million shares sold short, according to recent Nasdaq data. AstraZeneca, which paid up to $1 billion for exclusive rights, called it a high-risk drug and its stock is falling on the news.

More here….
Reuters;
Associated Press;
Bloomberg News;
The Wall Street Journal (subscription required);
AtheroGenics statement;
AstraZeneca statement.[tags]AstraZeneca, AtheroGenics[/tags]