Shares of ESSA Pharma (NASDAQ: EPIX) plunged in pre-market trading on Monday after the clinical-stage pharmaceutical company announced that Janssen Research and Development (Janssen) is suspending the enrollment of patients.
ESSA stated that the enrollment of patients has been suspended into the Phase 1 clinical study of EPI-7386 with apalutamide or EPI-7386 with abiraterone acetate plus prednisone in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) as a result of “operational recruitment challenges.”
David Parkinson, ESSA’s CEO commented, “While we are disappointed that Janssen will not be completing this study, we thank Janssen for the conduct of the study to date and the patients who participated in the study.”
Janssen did treat three mCRPC patients with the combination of EPI-7386 and apalutamide or abiraterone acetate plus prednisone for up to four months of therapy. Two out of the three patients achieved a reduction in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) of 90% within 12 weeks.
