Ventyx Biosciences (VTYX) suffered a major setback as it scrapped its psoriasis drug after it failed to meet the criteria in Phase 2 testing, causing VTYX stock to plummet by more than 80%. The company tested four doses of its drug, VTX958, on patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, but only two of those regimens showed statistically significant improvements. As a result, the company decided that the drug did not perform well enough to compete in the highly competitive psoriasis market.
Furthermore, the impact of the drug was studied over 16 weeks, with patients on the high-dose regimens showing at least a 75% improvement in skin lesions related to plaque psoriasis. Based on the disappointing results, Ventyx also decided to terminate the psoriasis study as well as an ongoing test in psoriatic arthritis. Meanwhile, the company is still conducting studies on VTX958 in patients with Crohn’s disease, with interim results expected in the first quarter.
The stock market reacted sharply to the news, with VTYX stock dropping 80.6% to close at 2.73. Ventyx, a newly traded company that started trading in December 2021, saw its shares hit the lowest point in massive volume. Unfortunately, the company’s shares are poorly rated, with an IBD Digital Relative Strength Rating of 5, placing them in the bottom 5% of all stocks.
