British Biotech's (Oxford, UK) stock plunged 16% to £0.22 on February 15 after its lead drug Marimastat, a matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor, failed a dose escalation trial. Study 128 was expected to show it increasing survival rates by 16% over Eli Lilly's (Indianapolis, IN) Genzar (gemcitabine)—generally considered one of the best cancer drugs on the market—in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer. In fact, at the highest dose, reductions in patient mortality were not significantly different to Genzar, and lower doses were less effective. There are nine other trials of Marimastat still underway although this is the second to have brought bad news to the company in nearly as many months (Nat. Biotechnol. 17, 117, 1999).