BHC's Late-Stage Liver Cirrhosis Studies Fail, Stock Down

Shares of Bausch Health BHC were down 1.86% on Jan. 26. This was the second consecutive session when shares slid.  

BHC stock was down 10% on Jan. 23 after the company announced the failure of the late-stage RED-C clinical program.

The RED-C program consists of two global, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III studies involving more than 1,000 patients across 398 sites in 17 countries. The studies evaluated rifaximin solid soluble dispersion (SSD) for the delay of the first episode of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in adults with liver cirrhosis who had no prior HE episodes.

The trials did not meet the primary endpoint even though the compound was safe and well-tolerated.

More on BHC’s Rifaximin

Rifaximin SSD is administered orally and is a next-generation rifaximin formulation that acts by targeting the beta-subunit of bacterial DNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

Please note that rifaximin is already approved in the United States as Xifaxan.

Xifaxan 550 mg tablets are indicated for the reduction in risk of overt HE recurrence in adults and for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) in adults.

It is one of the top growth drivers for BHC, which was looking to expand the drug’s indication in the RED-C program.

The success of the program would have been a major boost for Xifaxan, as cirrhosis is a major cause of end-stage liver disease in the United States.

We remind investors that BHC is involved in several lawsuits related to the generic version of Xifaxan, which is set to lose exclusivity in 2028 in the United States.

Xifaxan accounted for 85% of total Salix revenues in the first nine months of 2025.

BHC Recent Updates and Performance

BHC’s shares have lost 25.4% in the past year against the industry’s growth of 36.1%.

Last month, BHC announced the acquisition of Wuhan Shibo Zhenmei Technology Co., Ltd.

Bausch Health’s aesthetics business, Solta Medical, acquired Wuhan Shibo Zhenmei Technology, consisting of the Shibo group’s aesthetics distribution business.

Shibo Group has been Solta Medical’s distribution partner in China over the past decade.

Bausch had earlier acquired DURECT Corporation, strengthening its growth platform in R&D, complementing its existing hepatology pipeline and broadening the reach of its diverse portfolio across therapeutic areas and geographies. The acquisition includes larsucosterol, a novel therapeutic molecule that can harness the power of epigenetic modulation.

However, the colossal debt continues to weigh on the stock. As of Sept. 30, 2025, the company’s long-term debt obligations amounted to $21 billion and cash balance totaled $1.3 billion.

BHC's Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Bausch currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the pharma/biotech sector are Alkermes ALKS and Immunocore IMCR, both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Over the past 60 days, estimates for Alkermes’ 2026 earnings per share (EPS) have increased from $1.54 to $1.91. Shares of ALKS have gained 26.6% over the past six months.

Alkermes’ earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, while missing the same on the remaining occasion, with the average surprise being 4.58%.

Over the past 60 days, Immunocore’s loss per share estimates for 2026 have decreased from 97 cents to 90 cents.

Immunocore’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, while missing the same on the remaining occasion, with the average surprise being 53.96%.




 

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