Here's Why Forward Pharma Lost 30% Today

Shares of Forward Pharma A/S FWP, a Denmark-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, lost around 30 percent Monday after the company announced a disappointing update related to its patent.

What You Need To Know

Forward Pharma said in a press release the European Patent Office (EPO) revoked the company's EP2801355 patent ("355 patent") after considering third-party oppositions from several opponents.

The patent is related to a PH-controlled release composition for oral use that contains an active ingredient found in Biogen Inc BIIB's therapy for MS, Seeking Alpha's News Editor Douglas House said.

"We are disappointed with the EPO's decision to revoke the '355 patent. We continue to believe the '355 patent's claims are valid and once the written decision of the Opposition Division is issued, we expect to file an appeal to the Technical Board of Appeal," said Forward Pharma CEO Dr. Claus Bo Svendsen.

Why It's Important

Investors were notified in November a decision from the European regulatory body would be released between Jan. 29 and Jan. 30.

What's Next?

The EPO Opposition Division will provide a detailed explanation of how its decision was reached "in due course," the company said. The decision will reach the Technical Board of Appeal with an expected duration of the appeal process of an additional two to three years.

"We continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property and have filed strong argumentation to uphold our issued ‘355 patent," Bo Svendsen said at that time. "Both the ‘355 opposition and the U.S. appeal are progressing as planned and we expect decisions in both Europe and United States in 2018."

The stock was halted four times Monday morning and traded around $3.89 at time of publication, down 27.4 percent.

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