A Tenax Therapeutics drug designed to treat a type of heart failure associated with high blood pressure in the lungs failed in a closely watched study.
The trial had been closely watched even if the outcome was seen as a crapshoot
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Aug. 10, 2026
Adam Feuerstein, a senior writer and biotech columnist, is the author of Adam’s Biotech Scorecard, a subscriber-only newsletter about the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology.
Adam Feuerstein is a senior writer and biotech columnist, reporting on the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology. He is also a co-host of the weekly biotech podcast The Readout Loud and author of the newsletter Adam’s Biotech Scorecard. You can reach Adam on Signal at stataf.54.
Tenax Therapeutics on Monday reported negative results from a late-stage clinical trial evaluating an experimental treatment for a type of heart failure associated with high blood pressure in the lungs.
Shares of the biotech company plunged 84% to $2 in early trading.
In the Phase 3 study called LEVEL, Tenax’s drug, an oral formulation of levosimendan, improved exercise capacity by 14 meters on a six-minute walking test compared to an improvement of 10.4 meters for a placebo. The difference was not statistically significant, failing to achieve the study’s primary efficacy goal, the company said.
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Adam Feuerstein is a senior writer and biotech columnist, reporting on the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology. He is also a co-host of the weekly biotech podcast The Readout Loud and author of the newsletter Adam’s Biotech Scorecard. You can reach Adam on Signal at stataf.54.