Clinical Trial Halt Sends Intellia Therapeutics Shares Plunging

Intellia Therapeutics US45826J1051

A patient death during a critical Phase 3 study has triggered a severe downturn for gene-editing company Intellia Therapeutics. The company’s stock value plummeted more than 60% after regulators imposed a clinical hold on its lead program. This development follows the passing of an elderly patient who experienced severe liver complications after receiving the CRISPR-based therapy, NTLA-2001 (nex-z).

On October 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued formal clinical holds for both the MAGNITUDE and MAGNITUDE-2 Phase 3 trials. This regulatory action affects more than 650 enrolled patients. The deceased patient, a man in his eighties, received treatment on September 30 and developed serious liver injury approximately 24 days later.