EyePoint shares plunge 81.6% premarket after eye treatment trial fails
Key Facts
EyePoint said its experimental treatment Duravyu failed to meet the primary vision endpoint in the LUCIA trial for wet macular degeneration, as its shares fell sharply before trading opened on October 19, 2026. The company said in its results statement that the treatment "did not meet the primary endpoint," despite improvements in patients' vision. The trial did not statistically establish the treatment's non-inferiority to aflibercept in the mean change in best-corrected visual acuity. LUCIA enrolled 475 patients, compared with 432 patients in the earlier LUGANO trial of the same treatment. LUGANO also failed to meet the primary endpoint in the full dataset, according to an earlier company announcement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
In secondary results, EyePoint reported a 38% reduction in treatment burden in LUCIA, with about 52% of eyes requiring no supplemental injections. LUGANO had shown a 42% reduction in treatment burden compared with aflibercept, according to the company's earlier announcement. The company described LUGANO's secondary result as demonstrating superiority to aflibercept administered under its approved dosing regimen. An independent data safety monitoring committee had recommended in an earlier review that LUGANO and LUCIA continue as planned without changes to either trial's protocol. EyePoint says wet macular degeneration is a lifelong disease requiring ongoing treatment for patients to maintain visual function.
Following the results, the board approved a plan to cut about 53% of jobs as part of a reprioritization aimed at preserving capital, according to the company's statement. EyePoint will end its wet macular degeneration trials early, without completing the second year of either trial. It estimated annual savings from the reprioritization and operational changes at about $30 million once the plan is implemented. It expects to incur about $9 million in severance and related expenses associated with the workforce reduction. The company estimated its cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at about $118 million at the end of September 2026.
Duravyu uses vorolanib and the biodegradable Durasert E technology, according to EyePoint's description of its drug program. The technology is designed to provide sustained drug delivery for at least 6 months per dose. Duravyu remains an experimental treatment that has not received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, according to the company's disclosure. EyePoint holds exclusive rights to use vorolanib for the localized treatment of eye diseases under a license from Equinox Sciences. Those rights cover markets outside China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan, according to the licensing terms cited in the company's disclosure.
EyePoint shares fell 81.6% in premarket trading on the day the LUCIA results were announced, according to Investing.com. The stock traded at $0.551 during that session, according to the website. Following the trial failure, Jefferies downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy, according to a separate report published by Investing.com. The firm also cut its price target to $1.00 from $8.00. The rating and price target changes came on Monday, October 19, 2026, following the announcement that the trial had failed to meet its primary endpoint.
Under its new priorities, EyePoint will focus its remaining resources on developing Duravyu for diabetic macular edema, according to its restructuring statement. The company says the disease occurs when fluid leaks from damaged blood vessels into the macula, potentially impairing vision. The treatment's development program for the disease includes the COMO and CAPRI trials, which the company said had completed enrollment. It expects to implement most job cuts in the final quarter of 2026 and complete the plan in the first half of 2027. The company expects to report COMO and CAPRI results in the final quarter of 2027, according to its statement announcing the completion of enrollment in both trials.