Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ESPR) cratered by more than 50% in pre-market trading on Thursday after the pharmaceutical company stated in a company filing that Daiichi Sankyo Europe has disputed Esperion’s right to receive milestone payments following a clinical trial.
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Esperion had done a Cholesterol Lowering via Bempedoic acid, an ACL Inhibiting Regimen (CLEAR) Outcomes trial for Nexletol. This trial indicated that Nexletol significantly reduced bad cholesterol, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and cardiovascular risk in patients who cannot maximize or tolerate a statin.
The company has stated that it is eligible to receive up to $300 million in milestone payments from Daiichi Sankyo upon the “inclusion of certain required cardiovascular risk reduction data in the US label.” The company is eligible to receive another $140 million if it meets other regulatory milestones.
However, Daiichi Sankyo believes that ESPR cannot receive the milestone payments as one of the measures in the CLEAR trial failed to meet the primary endpoint.
Analysts are cautiously optimistic about ESPR stock with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on five Buys, three Holds, and one Sell.