Immune Response hit by negative trial of Remune therapeutic vaccine in HIV

Immune Response saw its share price fall through the floor on June 1,dropping more than 55% to $2.18 after reporting that a Phase II trial of its immune-based treatment for HIV infection, Remune (HIV-1 immunogen), failed to meet its primary endpoint. The company's stock had touched $1.81 before the close.

The results indicate that there was no significant difference between Remune-treated patients and the control group in the time to an increase of 5,000 copies/ml viral load or a 50% decrease in CD4 cell counts (or a decline to less than 250 CD4 cells/ml) while on antiretroviral therapy. The endpoint was reached by 41% of patients in the control group, versus 30% of the Remune arm (p=0.2).

The trial's monitoring committee noted, however, that a subgroup analysis suggested that Remune did appear to have a positive effect on patients in the study who had better immune function, and recommended additional trials in this population. The results of the study will be presented on June 25 at the 6th European Conference on Experimental AIDS Research in Edinburgh, Scotland.