H.C. Wainwright lowered its price target to Galmed Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GLMD) to $13 from $22, citing enrollment delays in a Phase 2b NASH trial of aramchol. The stock closed at $4.13 on Wednesday.
“Given that Galmed randomized the 120th patient (50% enrollment) on June 1, it would appear that Galmed has only added 12 patients over the last two months,” writes analyst Ed Arce.
“This pace of enrollment is quite slow in our view and especially concerning in light of Galmed’s expressly committed goal of achieving full enrollment by year end,” he added.
“We suspect that one direct cause of this slow enrollment is the higher screen failure rate, reflecting (in part) a strict interpretation of the subjects’ histopathology by a single expert central reader, (which of course, in isolation, is a good thing as it maintains the integrity of the trial design protocol),” Mr. Arce said.
