Synthetic Biologics Crashes Following Disappointing Phase 2 Results

Shares of Synthetic Biologics Inc (NYSE: SYN), a clinical-stage biotechnology company, lost more than 16 percent and hit a new 52-week low of $1.17 on Tuesday after the company released results of an independent third party evaluation of its Phase 2 clinical trial.

Synthetic Biologics's Phase 2 clinical trial evaluated its Trimesta therapy as a treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in women and the company's study were evaluated by two independent clinical research organizations.

Phase 2 RRMS clinical trial data for purposes of evaluating Trimesta's potential further development. However, the results from the independent analyses did not demonstrate statistically significant differences between the Trimesta plus Copaxone treatment group compared to the Copaxone plus placebo group at 12 or 24 months.

"We are disappointed with the outcome of the data analyses which did not demonstrate statistically significant treatment effects in this study," said Jeffrey Riley, Chief Executive Officer of Synthetic Biologics. "We intend to focus the Company's resources on its other programs, including our two Phase 2 gut microbiome programs which have both demonstrated positive topline clinical results."