Elicio Therapeutics (ELTX) shares were down by more than 50% in Monday's premarket activity after it said its Phase 2 clinical study evaluating the experimental pancreatic cancer therapy ELI-002 7p did not meet the pre-specified primary endpoint of disease-free survival.

An imbalance in patient randomization placed more individuals with a higher risk of relapse into the active treatment group, which negatively impacted the overall trial outcome, the company said.

Post-hoc analyses of secondary endpoints revealed the drug provided a measurable survival benefit for a specific subset of trial participants possessing lower residual disease, Elicio Therapeutics said.

The company intends to design its Phase 3 trial exclusively around this lower-risk demographic while administering additional doses, it said.

Elicio anticipates current cash will sustain operations into Q4 as it seeks strategic funding options to advance the clinical program, the company added.