Bellus says its Merck cough rival passed a PhIIb test after earlier flop, but investors can't make up their minds

A little over a year after flopping out of the chronic cough game and leaving Merck as the sole player, Bellus Health is saying it’s back in contention.

The Canadian biotech touted a Phase IIb interim analysis Monday morning it described as positive, saying that “at least one dose” of its experimental chronic cough drug posted a clinically meaningful reduction in placebo-adjusted 24-hour cough frequency after four weeks. It’s a result that comes roughly 15 months after another Phase II trial reported a miss on all four doses, sending shares $BLU down more than 75% at the time.