Neo Barnum

There are times, sometimes too many, when quant looks sheepish. This is one of those days. I have a few rules of thumb. One is that biopharma from the Boston-Cambridge axis is legit, while that of the San Diego version is garbage. I don't recall an instance where the latter has failed. But here's a case of the former proving false.

The biotech industry's Arctic ice-cube salesman Cristoph Westphal managed to raise $86 million Wednesday night in an initial public offering to develop a treatment for leg cramps made from food ingredients commonly found in your spice drawer and refrigerator.

That's one guy's assessment from three years ago. Here's today's results

... announced that the Company is ending its ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial investigations of FLX-787 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) due to oral tolerability concerns observed in both studies, in a subset of patients being treated, with the oral disintegrating tablet formulation at 30 mg, taken three times a day.

What was it Barnum said...? It should be noted that cinnamon, by folklore, is a cure for diabetes. And my PCP swears by magnesium, not potassium, for cramps. Works for me.