Neuren hits back at Culper claims, shares plunge over 13%
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The news: Neuren Pharmaceuticals has hit back at claims made by US activist short-seller Culper Research that its partner Acadia Pharmaceuticals misrepresented the safety profile of a drug.
The numbers: Neuren shares were down nearly 14% to $19.85 at 1:45pm AEDT after Culper published its report overnight. Neuren announced a pause in trading around 11:00am AEDT before releasing a comment to the market.
The context: Culper's report revealed it held a short position on Neuren and said that US-based Acadia misrepresented the safety profile of its Rett syndrome drug trofinetide, which was launched in the US in April last year under the brand name Daybue.
"Acadia has misrepresented Daybue's safety profile, and in turn, patent retention rates," Culper alleged. "The company now faces a wall of discontinuations due to insurance reauthorisation requirements. Numerous insurance plans we reviewed require tangible proof of improvement on the drug."
After the pause in trading, Neuren released a comment rebutting Culper's claims, stating: "there are numerous analyst research reports published on Acadia and on Neuren, many incorporating surveys of US physicians, that present a different view to Culper".
Last month Victoria-based Neuren, which licensed trofinetide to Acadia, reported that royalty payments from the drug contributed 10% of net sales.
The source: ASX announcement
