J&J suspends enrollment in clinical trial assessing Essa Pharma’s prostate cancer treatment

Shares of Essa Pharma Inc. fell 28.6% in premarket trading on Monday after the company said Johnson & Johnson suspended enrollment in a Phase 1 clinical trial for Essa’s experimental prostate cancer therapy, citing patient recruitment challenges. Essa had announced a clinical collaboration with J&J back in 2021. “We are in discussions with Janssen to supply abiraterone acetate and apalutamide for an ESSA-sponsored combination study and expect to provide more details in the coming months,” Essa CEO David Parkinson said in a news release. Essa’s stock is down 68.9% in 2022, while the S&P 500 has declined 18.5%.

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