Despite releasing relatively positive interim clinical trial results for its new diabetes drug, Chinese pharmaceutical firm Hua Medicine still saw its shares drop by as much as 40 percent this week. Investors were not impressed by the results even when the company had stated that it was confident that it was going to receive marketing approval from regulators.
Hua Medicine's chief financial officer, George Lin Chien Cheng, mentioned on Thursday that market reaction was likely because most investors were simply not well-informed about the trial requirements. Cheng stated that the results were good and that the new drug does have a lot of advantages when compared to existing products on the market.
On Thursday, Hua Medicine saw its shares in Hong Kong tumble to HK$4.12 per share. Since it had published its trial results for its new drug late on Monday, the company's stock prices have dropped by more than 40.2 percent.
One of the major concerns that were raised by investors was the clinical result's high therapeutic reading of its placebo relative to other similar drugs in the market. Hua Medicine reasoned that the high reading was simply because its drug is the first of its kind to undergo phase three trials in China. For this reason, regulators have yet to set standardized guidelines.
Data from the clinical trial results showed that Hua Medicine's new diabetes drug Dorzagliatin resulted in a 1.07 percent reduction in HbA1c, an indicator of diabetic control. This was 0.57 percent better than the Hba1c levels of patients who were on placebo. The increase was, unfortunately, lower than the 0.81 percent that was expected and 0.7 percent lower than four other drugs in the market.
Hua Medicine explained that the figures still exceeded the National Medical Products Administration's requirements of at least 0.4 percent, which means that the drug was effective.
Additionally, the Chinese firm emphasized that investors should focus more on the fact that its new drug had resulted in fewer side effects. Other drugs in the market have shown much higher instances of side effects such as low blood sugar, joint pain, and kidney issues.
Hua Medicine also claims that its drug functions very different from any existing diabetes drug on the market. Other drugs simply lower blood sugar when needed but Hua Medicine's Dorzagliatin could essentially become a permanent cure.
The novel drug attempts to "repair" a person's insulin regulation, which means some patients could become free from the ailment after taking the medication for a certain period. Trials for Hua Medicine's drug is expected to be completed in February next year, followed by a public release of the results after three months.
