Celgene Slips; Drug Candidate Fails Phase III Trial Endpoint

Celgene's CELG shares slipped nearly two percent in pre-market trading after the company said its drug candidate for treating spinal disease failed to meet the primary objective of a Phase III trial.

The drug, OTEZLA, failed to offer significant improvements in patients after 16 weeks. The targeted spinal disease is ankylosing spondylitis, which causes vertebrae to fuse together, causing pain, a hunched posture and difficulty breathing.

Celgene said despite the failure, significant improvements were observed after 24 weeks in a large subset of patients with early-stage disease. Based on this, an independent committee recommended the study to continue.

Celgene traded down less than one percent shortly after Wednesday's opening bell.