AG Edwards Cut Vasogen to Hold from Buy

AG Edwards downgraded Vasogen (VSGN

) to hold from buy, citing disappointing results from the company's trial of its heart disease treatment technology Celacade.

Analyst Kevin McDevitt says the trial unambiguously failed. While the Celacade technology treatment did contribute to an intriguing reduction in C-reactive protein (CPR), a widely recognized marker of systemic inflammation associated with increased heart failure, it is not clear that the reduction is sufficient to have meaningful clinical effect, the analyst says. The overall lack of treatment effect in the recent trial leaves McDevitt unwilling to recommend adding money to Vasogen at this time.