Sept 10 (Reuters) - ChemoCentryx Inc's experimentaldrug for treating diabetic kidney disease showed mixed resultsin a mid-stage trial with a higher dose being less effectivethan a lower one, sending the company's stock tumbling by asmuch as 27 percent.
The interim trial data showed that a 5 mg daily dose of thedrug reduced the level of protein in the urine by 12 percentafter two weeks, compared with an 8 percent reduction inpatients on a 10 mg dose.
High protein levels in the urine are a sign of kidneydamage.
"... Only the 5 mg dose reached statistical significance atweek two and data were not significant at 12 weeks at eitherdose (5 mg or 10mg)," J.P. Morgan analyst analysts wrote in anote.
"Additionally, a clear dose response was not observed in theinterim results," analysts Geoff Meacham, Michael Liz and AnupamRama said, downgrading the stock to "neutral" from "overweight".
The analysts said the addressable patient population for thedrug could be smaller than originally thought, and it may haveto target a narrower patient population.
ChemoCentryx said the drug showed as much as a 33 percentreduction in urine protein levels in a subset of patients whoshowed signs of serious kidney damage.
Data from the full study are expected in the second half of2014, the company said.
ChemoCentryx's shares were down 23 percent at $6.37 on theNasdaq on Tuesday. The losses added to a 30 percent declinesince late August, when GlaxoSmithKline Plc announcedthat a Crohn's disease drug it had licensed from ChemoCentryxhad failed a late-stage clinical trial. (Reporting by Shailesh Kuber; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)
Glaxosmithkline (GSK)