Sarepta Shares Fall After EU Regulator Rejects Gene Therapy

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. shares plunged after European regulators rejected its gene therapy Elevidys, intensifying scrutiny on the drugmaker after it was pressured to halt shipments of its treatment in the US.

The Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG markets the treatment outside the US and had applied for the European approval in younger children who could still walk. In its decision announced Friday, the European Medicines Agency’s drug advisory committee cited a lack of proof that Elevidys is effective in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Roche’s shares fell as much as 1.7% in Zurich.