Neurex, Warner-Lambert Stop Drug Trials

Shares of Neurex Corp. and Warner-Lambert Co. fell after the companies said they will stop trials of the head-trauma drug SNX-111. Shares of Menlo Park-based Neurex fell 55 cents to close at $11.63 on Nasdaq, and Warner-Lambert, a Morris Plains, N.J.-based maker of drugs and consumer products, fell $1.63 to close at $136.31 on the New York Stock Exchange. Results of earlier trials weren’t as good as the company had hoped, Neurex Chairman and Chief Executive Paul Goddard said. The companies said they want to further evaluate the data. SNX-111, a type of calcium channel blocker, changes the way certain nerve cells communicate to reduce pain. Neurex discovered the compound in 1989. It teamed with Warner-Lambert to develop SNX-111 for use with head-trauma and stroke patients and with Medtronic Inc. to explore its use to treat chronic pain. The Food and Drug Administration has cleared the company to continue testing the drug as a treatment for chronic and severe pain, which requires much lower dosages, Goddard said. He said Neurex has found “no clear safety or toxicity issues.” Neurex, a start-up drug maker, has no products on the market yet and only one other drug in development.