Allogene Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ALLO) shares have plunged premarket Friday following the news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed a hold on its AlloCAR T clinical trials.
On Thursday evening, the announcement was made with Allogene saying that the clinical hold followed a report of a chromosomal abnormality in ALLO-501A CAR T cells in a patient treated in the ALPHA2 study.
The company said it expects to provide additional updates in the coming weeks following consultation with the FDA. The FDA continues to review the end of Phase 1 data submitted in the hope of an ALLO-501A pivotal Phase 2 trial.
“Patient safety is our highest priority, and we are committed to working closely with the FDA to evaluate any potential clinical implications of this finding, and determine next steps for advancing ALLO-501A and our clinical programs,” said Rafael Amado, Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer at Allogene.
The news has seen several analysts downgrade the stock…
Goldman Sachs analyst Salveen Richter cut Allogene Therapeutics to Neutral from Buy, setting a price target of $20, down from $71.
Luca Issi, an analyst at RBC Capital, lowered the firm's price target on Allogene Therapeutics to $45 from $55. However, Issi kept an Outperform rating.
Oppenheimer analyst Mark Breidenbach reduced the price target on Allogene Therapeutics to $40 from $44, similarly keeping an Outperform rating.
Benjamin Burnett at Stifel cut Allogene Therapeutics to Hold from Buy with a price target of $18, down from $44.
Premarket, Allogene Therapeutics shares have taken a beating, down 37.69% at $15.19.
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