Here's Why Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. Plunged Today

What: Raptor Pharmaceuticals , a small-cap biopharma company specializing in the development of treatments for rare diseases, saw its stock plunge by nearly 40% today on heavy volume. This massive downward move was precipitated by the announcement that the company's experimental drug fornonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in children, RP103, failed to meet its primary endpoint in a second mid-stage trial. Because RP103 reportedly failed to make any meaningful impact on liver fibrosis, Raptor expects to discontinue the drug's clinical program for NASH following these disappointing results.

So what: Given the lack of therapeutic options for children with this serious liver disease, this particular indication for RP103 was seen as one of Raptor's most promising commercial opportunities.

Now what: While this clinical setback is no doubt unfortunate for investors and patients alike, it's not the end of the world for Raptor. After all, Raptor's FDA-approved treatment for themanagement of nephropathic cystinosis,Procysbi, is on track to generate $80 to $90 million in net sales this year, and RP103 is still being evaluated in other rare conditions such as Huntington's disease and various mitochondrial disorders.

The company also exited the second quarter with a relatively decent cash and cash equivalent position of $193 million, giving it some headroom to find additional value drivers going forward. Finally, its recent acquisition ofQuinsair, a medicine approved in theEU and inCanada forchronic pulmonary infections due toPseudomonas aeruginosain adult patients with cystic fibrosis, should also help provide a revenue lift next year.

Having said that, Raptor looks, to me, to be fairly valued, on a risk-adjusted basis, following RP103's clinical miss in pediatric NASH. So I personally don't plan on picking up any shares today, but may do so if the stock continues moving lower in these days ahead.

The article Here's Why Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. Plunged Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

George Budwell has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.