Roche, Atea Fall After Their Covid Pill Disappoints in Trial

Roche Holding AG and Atea Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares slid after a failed clinical trial pushed back the timeline on the partners’ experimental Covid-19 pill by a year.

The antiviral drug missed the main goal of a mid-stage trial of patients with mild or moderate Covid, Atea said Tuesday in a statement. A larger study that’s key for regulatory approval may now need to be modified, delaying its results -- originally expected this year -- to the second half of 2022, according to Atea. The biotech’s shares plunged as much as 74% as of 11:05 a.m. in New York, and Roche’s fell 1.7% in Zurich.