Coronado Biosciences Inc said its treatment for Crohn’s disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease, failed the main goal of improving patients’ response to the disease in a mid-stage study, sending its shares down 70 percent.

The treatment, Trichuris suis ova, comprised eggs taken from a pig whipworm. It is intended to modulate a patient’s immune system and prevent it from attacking the body’s own tissues and organs.

Coronado’s partner Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH is conducting a mid-stage study in Europe, testing three doses of TSO in active Crohn’s disease. Data from the study is expected in the fourth quarter, Coronado said.

Coronado Chief Executive Harlan Weisman said the company would analyze data from its trial, along with the anticipated data from its partner’s European study to decide on the treatment’s future development.

Coronado’s trial enrolled 250 patients, dosed with either TSO or placebo once every two weeks, for 12 weeks.

The company said the response rate of patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease taking the treatment was not different from patients taking the placebo as measured on a clinical scale.

Coronado said the treatment was safe and well-tolerated. Adverse events including abdominal pain were balanced between patients taking the treatment and those in the placebo group.

Shares of the company were down at $1.79 in early trading on the Nasdaq. They touched a life-low of $1.73.

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Reuters