EyePoint shares crash after second Duravyu study failure

what happened

EyePoint shares plunged on Monday after the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company reported that its experimental treatment Duravyu had failed a second late-stage study in wet age-related macular degeneration. According to Dow Jones Newswires, the stock traded near 57 cents, down 81%, after hitting an all-time low of 53 cents earlier in the session.

The Watertown, Massachusetts company plans to cut more than half of its workforce and aims to save about $30 million a year. In a Phase 3 trial against the approved drug aflibercept, Duravyu again missed its primary endpoint. EyePoint will now focus on developing Duravyu for diabetic macular edema. As of September 30, it held about $118 million in cash, equivalents and short-term investments.

why it matters

For markets, this is a story about one small biotech, but the collapse shows how a failed key trial can erase a stock's value almost instantly. Investors typically watch remaining cash and the pace of cost cuts, since those determine how much runway the company has for further trials.

market impact

Biotech sector and EYPT: the failed key trial lowers expectations for the drug and pressures the shares.

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