Renovis Shares Fall 23% on Drug Study’s Findings

Shares of Renovis Inc., a biotechnology company that went public last year, slid 23% Tuesday after study data presented over the weekend on its Cerovive stroke drug disappointed investors, an analyst said.

Renovis fell $3.90 to $13.20. The stock almost doubled May 4 when the South San Francisco-based company and partner AstraZeneca released preliminary results showing Cerovive was effective.

Researchers used two scales to measure a patient’s progress after a stroke, and only one of the tests showed a significant improvement in people taking Cerovive in a study, SG Cowen & Co. analyst Phil Nadeau said Tuesday.

The finding increases the risk that results from a second trial may be negative and that the drug won’t win Food and Drug Administration approval, he said.

“The second trial has to be positive in order for there to be approval,” Nadeau said.

Sales of Cerovive, should it be cleared for sale, may reach as much as $800 million in 2009, translating into about $120 million in revenue for Renovis, Nadeau said.