08:52 AM EDT, 08/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- AN2 Therapeutics ( ANTX ) said Friday it will discontinue the phase 2 and 3 of its EBO-301 study of epetraborole, which is intended for treating refractory Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease.

The announcement was made as the company released topline data from its phase 2 trial of the drug candidate. Based on those results, the study met its primary objective of demonstrating the potential validation of a novel patient-reported outcome tool and a higher patient-reported outcome clinical response rate in the eptraborole group, compared with the placebo group.

However, sputum culture conversion at the sixth month was similar between treatment groups.

"These results are deeply disappointing as there is a high unment need for new therapies in treatment-refractory [Mycobacterium avium complex] lung disease," AN2 Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Easom said.

In February, the company paused patient enrollment in the phase 3 part of the study due to potentially lower-than-expected efficacy observed in the data.

Easom said the company will further evaluate the results of the EBO-301 study but they are planning to implement a strategic restructuring and expect to extend the company's cash runway through 2027.

"In the near-term, we plan to accelerate our R&D efforts on our boron chemistry platform where we believe we have several promising programs in infectious diseases and oncology," Easom said.

Shares of AN2 Therapeutics ( ANTX ) fell almost 40% in recent premarket activity.

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