Shares of the biopharmaceutical company Menlo Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:MNLO) have plummeted by nearly 70%.

The loss of share value is due to the company releasing the results of their Phase 2 Trial of ‘Serlopitant’ for pruritus – which is a condition associated with atopic dermatitis.

Serlopitant is the company’s clinical drug that is meant to help treat “pruritus, or itch, associated with atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and prurigo nodularis.”

Overall, the study showed that there was no significant difference between the results from the serlopitant treated groups and the placebo group. It also failed to meet with its primary and secondary goals.

The trial, which was conducted in over 50 different locations in the United States, enrolled 484 patients, 13 years of age and older, with a past or present diagnosis of atopic dermatitis.

The patients were then divided into three groups that either received a dose of a placebo, one milligram of serlopitant, or five milligrams of serlopitant, once per day.

The average change from the baseline of the study was -2.01 for the placebo group, -2.32 for the one-milligram serlopitant group, and -2.25 for the five-milligram serlopitant group.

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Menlo Therapeutics CEO, Steve Basta, has said that the company is “disappointed that the results in this Phase 2 trial,”. However, the company will now be focussing on their other clinical trials including “initiating Phase 3 studies in prurigo nodularis this quarter” and the “Phase 2 results in refractory chronic cough in the fourth quarter of this year.”

Compared with Menlo’s closing share value of $35.22 USD on Friday, the company’s current share value of approximately $9.91 is a significant loss.

Shares seem to look as if they will stay hovering close to just under $10.00 for the rest of the day.

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