Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. MRK remained stable on Friday after the company disclosed it is discontinuing the development of Odanacatib, its investigational cathepsin K inhibitor for osteoporosis. The company indicated that it would not seek regulatory approval for its use.
The drug maker reported about a numeric imbalance in adjudicated stroke events in the pivotal final stage fracture outcomes trial in postmenopausal women. The company chose to discontinue development following an independent adjudication and analysis of big adverse cardiovascular events confirming an elevated level of stroke risk.
Merck indicated that it would present the data from the analysis at the American Society for Bone Mineral Research (ASBMR) in September.
The company's president for research laboratories, Roger Perlmutter, said, "We are disappointed that the overall benefit-risk profile for odanacatib does not support filing or further development. We are very thankful to the researchers and patients who participated in the odanacatib clinical development program. We have learned that odanacatib treatment reduces the risk of osteoporotic fractures. At the same time, we believe that the increased risk of stroke in our Phase 3 trial does not support further development."
At time of writing, the stock was down 0.32 percent at $62.70.
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