Renovo abandons Prevascar trials

RENOVO has announced that it will not carry out any more work on its Prevascar drug following disappointing trial results.

Prevascar, which is designed to reduce scarring in people with African ancestry, was the last of the remaining drugs that the Manchester-based company had in its development pipeline.

The company said that it had conducted trials with 56 subjects over a 13-month period using four different dosage levels.

By the end of the first month there was a small but significant reduction in the scar width by the end of the first month when compared with placebo subjects, but by the end of the 13th month the placebo scar width had also improved. Most other assessments showed no difference between the treatments.

As a result, the company said that it “will not perform any further work on Prevascar and will continue to focus on its previously-announced merger and acquisition plans and its share buy-back programme in order to enhance shareholder value”.

The company abandoned trials of its most advanced scar reduction drug, Juvista, in February last year and shelved the development of Adaprev in the second half of the year. It closed its Manchester-based HQ in June, laying off the bulk of its 100 employees.

Renovo is still sat on a substantial cash pile, though, which it has been whittling down by buying back shares from investors while seeking acquisition targets.

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