Corcept Therapeutics Shares Hit All-Time Low After 2nd Corlux Clinical Trial Fails

Shares of Corcept Therapeutics Inc. took another hit Friday and sunk to an all-time low after the drug developer said the second of three clinical trials for its Corlux depression drug had failed.

Corcept shares dropped 54 cents, or 41.2 percent, to 77 cents in midday trading on the Nasdaq at more than double their average volume. The stock, which went public at $12 in April 2004, hit a new all-time low of 75 cents earlier in the session.

On Aug. 25, the stock shed 56 percent of its value in one day, trading at hundreds of times its average volume, to close at $1.54 on the Nasdaq after the company announced that the first of three Corlux trials had failed.

In the second study, researchers found no significant difference between Psychotic Major Depression patients who were given Corlux or a placebo and then assessed using a psychiatric rating scale.

As in the first study, the company noted there was an unusually high placebo response rate in the second study. After 56 days, about 95 percent of those taking Corlux or a placebo had responded by improving their scores on the rating scale by 50 percent, the study's primary endpoint.

The company said it has about $17.5 million in cash and securities, enough to complete the third clinical trial. Results of the third study are expected early next year.