IDX184 suffers setback in clinical trial....

Posted 8/16/12 on MarketWatch.com. Ouch. This makes Novartis look almost prescient in it's restructuring of it's relationship to Idenix. BMS-094, PSI-938 and IDX184 all share the same chemical structure - even if the cardiac event is unrelated to BMS-094 (hard to tell) I think the market will be wary regarding nucs sharing this structure.  

Idenix plunges 30% on HCV drug setback       08/16 10:43 AM

 BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Idenix Pharmaceuticals (IDIX:$5.93,00$-2.38,00-28.64%) plunged 30% to $5.96 Thursday on news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has partially halted a Phase II clinical trial for its drug IDX184 over safety concerns. Idenix has been testing the product for the treatment of the hepatitis C virus, or HCV. The FDA placed a 'partial hold' on the trial pending the evaluation of reports that one of the patients taking the treatment had suffered a severe cardiac event. The FDA has also requested that Idenix provide additional patient data to help the agency with its evaluation. IDX184 belongs to a newer class of HCV drugs known as nucleotides. Earlier this month, shares of rival Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY:$31.95,00$0.07,000.22%) slid almost 10% after the company announced it had suspended a Phase II study of its HCV nucleotide agent due to concerns that a patient had developed heart failure.