Brain damage cases force an FDA hold on Bellicum's lead cell therapy -- shares tank
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals $BLCM just fell even further behind the pack leaders in the cell therapy crowd.
The Houston-based biotech reported after the markets closed Tuesday that the FDA had slapped a clinical hold on its lead cell therapy after researchers tracked three cases of encephalopathy — a broad term for brain damage — among patients taking the drug to support allogeneic stem cell transplants. The cases were deemed as possibly linked to BPX-501, which was being billed as a safer version of the cell therapies now making their way to the market.
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