Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (OSIR) Stock Discontinues Trial Enrollment

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIR) took it on the chin yesterday morning after the company released news through an 8-K filing. Today, we’ll talk about that news, what we’re currently seeing from the stock, and what we can expect to see from OSIR ahead.

OSIR Announces Enrollment Termination Through 8-K Filing

While most big news is announced via press release, it seems as though Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIR) is hoping that this doesn’t go too far. In an 8-K filing, the company informed investors that it would be terminating enrollment on its OTI-15-01 Phase III clinical trial. As far as a reason for termination goes, the company said that it is looking to allocate more of its development resources into other clinical trials. Here’s what the form 8-K filing had to offer with regard to the decision made by OSIR:

“On October 14, 2016, the Company commenced steps to terminate enrollment in its OTI-15-01 Phase III Clinical Trial. The trial was investigating the safety and efficacy of OTI-15091, a cryopreserved human amniotic membrane, in patients suffering from chronic DFUs that have not responded to standard of care therapy. Patients currently enrolled in the trial will continue with their current course of treatment and scheduled visit assessments, as outlined in the protocol. The decision to terminate further enrollment in the OTI-15-01 trial reflects the Company’s desire to allocate more of its research and development resources to other clinical programs, including its new cellular drug platform technology. The Company presently anticipates the new platform will have utility across multiple indications in wound care, orthopedics and sports medicine.”

What We’re Seeing From The Stock

While we would expect to see a big downturn in OSIR following news like this, it seems as though most investors are giving the company a pass. After the early declines yesterday, the stock rebounded to close the day at level ground, and has actually pushed up by 0.92% in trading this morning.

What We Can Expect To See Moving Forward

Moving forward, I have a relatively bearish opinion of what we can expect to see from Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIR). First and foremost, there’s got to be more to this. There has to be a reason that this big announcement was seemingly designed to fly under the radar, and that concerns me. At the end of the day, the discontinuation of enrollment means one of two things – either the company has enough samples currently enrolled in the trial to show meaningful results, or the trial isn’t going well. Given the way this was handled, I would say that OSIR is likely dealing with the latter. All in all, I’m expecting to see declines ahead.

Note: This article was written by Joshua Rodriguez, owner and founder of CNA Finance. If you would like to connect with Joshua, you can do so by emailing him at CNAFinanceHelp@gmail.com!