Thanks to Adam Feuerstein of TheStreet for breaking the news this morning, that shares in Inspire Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ISPH) have plunged following the announcement of negative data from the phase 3, TIGER-2 clinical trial for denufosol in cystic fibrosis.

According to the Chief Medical Officer at Inspire Pharma: “The analysis of the primary endpoint, key secondary endpoints and select subgroup populations in TIGER-2 indicates an absence of meaningful treatment benefit in this patient population.”

I wrote a blog post last week about denufosol and the hope that this drug offered to cystic fibrosis patients despite the uncertainty about its clinical effectiveness.

The latest data is disappointing and a major setback to Inspire Pharma. It highlights the risk/reward situation that many emerging biotechnology companies face with new product development, the hope that they will make it to market, coupled with the reality that many will fail.

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