Aspreva drug hits snag

Is Aspreva Pharmaceutical Corporation's (NASDAQ: ASPV) experimental drug CellCept the Next Big Thing in the medical industry? Not so much, as it turns out.

Less than a month after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted "fast-track" status for the drug in order to speed up the application and review process, the Canadian drug maker said that CellCept, intended to treat a serious and rare form of lupus, failed to meet its primary endpoint in a late-stage trial. The Phase III clinical trial compared CellCept to intravenous cyclophosphamide, which is the current standard of care for lupus nephritis. 185 patients were tested with each, with the study showing that the response rates were similar in both.

Aspreva, which has a collaboration agreement with Roche Holding Ltd (OTC: RHHBY) for the drug, said that CellCept was not superior to the intravenous cyclophosphamide, its primary goal. The two companies announced they are currently in discussions to assess the drug's future potential, which is looking pretty grim right now.

Well, at least the company didn't put all of their drug-eggs in one lupus nephritis basket. Oh wait -- they did. Analysts believed CellCept would provide Aspreva with a steady revenue stream for the next three to four years, but without it, they believe this could create a selling opportunity.

The company, which develops drugs for patients that suffer from rare diseases that lack a multitude of treatments, saw shares drop 8% this morning.