Athira Pharma (NASDAQ:ATHA) shares fell over 75% after the company said fosgonimeton, its experimental therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, failed in a Phase 2/3 trial, prompting at least two Wall Street firms to downgrade the biotech.
Citing topline data from its LIFT-AD clinical trial, Bothell, Washington-based Athira (ATHA) said on Tuesday after the close that fosgonimeton, its lead asset, achieved neither the trial’s primary endpoint nor its key secondary endpoints at 26 weeks.
BTIG downgraded Athira (ATHA) to neutral from buy and removed its $10 price target in reaction, arguing, “We don’t see Fosgo with a way forward in an area of drug development where trials are expensive, and investors are relatively skeptical.”
Given ATHA’s $75.1M in cash, analyst Thomas Shrader expects the company to change direction.
JMP Securities agreed. Analyst Jason Butler wrote, “We do not expect the company to invest further in fosgonimeton. ” He downgraded ATHA to Market Perform from Market Outperform.
JMP is looking for details on the company’s plans for its next-gen candidates aimed at neurodegenerative diseases, including its oral small-molecule drug ATH-1105, targeted at amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).