Fatal sepsis attacks blight Acorda’s PhIII, triggering new safety measures and torpedoing shares
After tracking 7 cases of sepsis — with 5 deaths — in studies of its late-stage Parkinson’s drug tozadenant, Acorda is increasing patient surveillance while pausing enrollment in its long-term safety studies to get a handle on the issue.
Acorda’s shares plunged 40% on the news.
The safety issue arose after researchers became aware of the cases of agranulocytosis, wiping out the white blood cells needed to fight off an infection. Now they say they will check those cell counts on a weekly basis as they study the potential drug problem with the FDA and the monitoring committee.
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