From Hype To Flop: 10 Biotech Stops That Let Down Investors In 2016

(RTTNews) - It is almost the end of the year. With the exception of a few, many of the biotech stocks, like the following, on which investors had bet big this year have served up only heartbreak.

It's been a downer year for BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (BCRX), with its experimental angioedema drug Avoralstat producing disappointing results in a mid-stage study. Shares of BioCryst have tumbled a whopping 45% year-to-date, and trade around $5.64.

Bind Therapeutics which analysts thought could revolutionize the treatment of life-threatening diseases like cancer through the application of nanotechnology, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May. The company took that extreme step following disappointing results from a phase II study of its lead compound BIND-014 that was being tested for various types of cancer.

Celldex Therapeutics Inc. (CLDX) had a terrible setback in March when it pulled the plug on a late stage study of its experimental brain cancer vaccine Rintega, once considered the crown jewel, based on the recommendation of an independent board overseeing the trial. Analysts were hoping that Rintega could be the second cancer vaccine to be approved in the U.S., after Dendreon Corp.'s prostate cancer vaccine Provenge. Shares of Celldex have lost over 74% of their value year-to-date, and trade around $3.95.

It's been a double disappointment for Cerecor Inc. (CERC) this year - with two of its drug candidates failing mid-stage studies. Late last month, the company announced that its phase II study of CERC-301 in major depressive disorder missed the primary endpoint, and on December 5, 2016, it was reported that its phase II study of CERC-501 for nicotine withdrawal also had failed. CERC is down over 61% year-to-date, and trades around $1.28.

Another biotech stock that turned out to be a dud this year is Epirus Biopharmaceuticals (EPRS), focused on developing biosimilars. The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in July after suspending its lead program BOW015, a biosimilar for rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade, sold by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), due to cash crunch.

Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (MRNS) was well on the way to becoming an exciting CNS-related story when the unfortunate event happened in June. The company quit the phase III study of Ganaxolone in adults with drug-resistant focal onset seizures, following disappointing results. Shares of the company are down nearly 87% year-to-date, and trade around $1.03.

Investors once had high hopes and great enthusiasm for Mirati Therapeutics (MRTX), a targeted oncology company. However, the company's decision in June to change the formulation of its lead compound Glesatinib in phase II testing in non-small cell lung cancer has brought with it a growing sense of concern and uncertainty over the progress of the compound. Shares of Mirati have lost a whopping 84% year-to-date, and trade at $5.10.

PTC Therapeutics Inc. (PTCT), which had been hoping that its treatment of nonsense mutation DMD, Translarna, will move through the FDA review process this year, despite failed studies, suffered a huge disappointment in February when the FDA slammed the door in its face by refusing to even review the application. The company's shares are down over 62% year-to-date, and trade around $12.25.

Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. (PTLA) faced a double whammy this year as it experienced a setback both on the clinical trial front and regulatory front. In March, the company announced that its experimental anti-clotting drug Betrixaban failed to demonstrate statistical difference in a late-stage study while in August, the FDA shot down its investigational anticoagulant antidote AndexXa. Shares of Portola have lost 63% of their value so far this year, and trade around $18.98.

It's been a really, really tough year for Tokai Pharmaceuticals (TKAI), which had to terminate its phase III trial of prostate cancer drug candidate Galeterone in July due to lack of evidence of efficacy, based on the recommendation of an Independent Data Monitoring Committee. Galeterone was even thought to have the potential to be on par with or even better than blockbuster prostate cancer drugs - Zytiga, sold by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Xtandi, sold by Japanese drug giant Astellas. Shares of Tokai are down 87% so far this year and trade around $1.13.

Now, let's take a look at some of the pending clinical trial catalysts of this month, which will make it a December to remember.