So close, yet so far.

That’s one way to view the results of a closely watched trial of a heart drug being developed by AtheroGenics. The pill just missed its primary goal of a key, late-stage trial involving 6,144 patients, but did cut death, heart attack and stroke rates by 19 percent. Moreover, the med reduced the risk patients would develop diabetes by 64 percent and demonstrated a small but statistically significant drop in blood sugar after a year.

Preliminary results, which were released last week, sent AtheroGenics stock plummeting by 60 percent and prompted speculation that AstraZeneca, which paid $1 billion to for exclusive rights, might back out. The big drugmaker is still reviewing the data before deciding whether to sink more money into development.

Meanwhile, doctors say the drug holds enough promise that further study is warranted. The results “are very encouraging and suggest that the drug is having a beneficial effect,” says Steve Nissen, chairman of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic and president of the American College of Cardiology, which is holding its annual meeting in New Orleans this week. “Someone should pursue further development of this drug.”

But the drug isn’t perfect: it raised bad cholesterol levels and there signs of liver problems in some patients compared with placebo. And to sort this out would require a lengthy and costly trial. Without some form of backing, though, AtheroGenics may not be around long enough to see it through. As of Dec. 31, the company only had $152 million in cash and $286 million in debt. “To let this go, with all the things we’ve seen so far,” says Marc Pfeffer, a Harvard Medical School professor and one of the lead investigators, “would be a missed opportunity.”

Further reading…
Bloomberg News;
Reuters;
Forbes;
AtheroGenics press release.[tags]AstraZeneca, AtheroGenics[/tags]