Thursday, shares of biotechnology company La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. (LJPC) plummeted over 91% after the company announced that it is halting development of its experimental lupus renal disease treatment Riquent.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease, in which the body's immune system attacks its own cells and tissues, and damages the organs. The disease affects various body parts, including the joints, skin, blood, and kidneys. According to the Lupus Foundation of America, nearly 1.5 million to 2 million Americans have some form of lupus.
La Jolla decided to abandon the development of Riquent, which was under late-stage development, after the Independent Data Monitoring Board, which carried out the interim efficacy analysis concluded that the phase III trial dubbed ASPEN was not worth pursuing. The drug was developed as a treatment for lupus renal disease by preventing or delaying renal flares, a leading cause of sickness and death in lupus patients.
For Riquent, whose development history has been long and challenging, the latest setback is a deadly blow. Riquent is the only drug in La Jolla's pipeline. In October 2004, Riquent was issued an approvable letter by the FDA and the company was asked to conduct an additional trial demonstrating clinical benefit of the drug. La Jolla's efforts to receive an accelerated approval for Riquent also met with failure, following the FDA's refusal to grant such a privilege in March 2005.
It is only a month ago, La Jolla and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) entered into an agreement to develop and commercialize Riquent.
Jean-Jacques Bienaime, Chief Executive Officer of BioMarin in a statement said, "While the results of this first interim efficacy analysis are obviously disappointing, we decided to take a calculated risk on this program and with the carefully staged agreement, we have spent a total of $15 million, a relatively modest amount for a late Phase 3 asset addressing a large market opportunity."
Since lupus is such a highly variable disease, it is difficult to develop data that prove a drug's safety and effectiveness. According to researchers, one drawback in lupus drug development is that the drug may prove beneficial for one organ but may turn out to damage another. This explains the fact as to why no new drug specifically for lupus has been developed in more than 45 years.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-malarial drug hydroxycholorquine and Prednisone are some of the drugs prescribed to treat the symptoms and complications of lupus. Organ transplant drugs azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil, rheumatoid arthritis and non-Hodgkins lymphoma drug, rituxan, and cancer drug methotrexate are some of the drugs used for off-label treatment of lupus.
LJPC closed Thursday's trade at $0.20, down 91.34% on a volume of 37.8 million shares. However, in the after-hours, the stock gained 7.50% and was at $0.21.
BMRN closed the day's trade at $19.40, down 0.15% on a volume of 3.54 million shares.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.