Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB) shares are sliding again on Tuesday.
Shares in the ASX biotech company are down 3.7% at time of writing to 40 cents a share.
That puts Mesoblast shares down a painful 55% since the opening bell rang on 3 January.
But it's not all bad news in the ASX biotech space today.
Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: RCE) is setting the bar high, soaring 23% today. Shares in the ASX biotech stock are currently swapping hands for 75 cents apiece.
Here's what's happening.
Mesoblast shares remain out of favour
First, the bad news.
Mesoblast shares have yet to find support after suffering through a devastating fall on Friday.
That came after the company exited a trading halt to announce that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had not approved its stem cell therapy, remestemcel-L, for use in the US.
Mesoblast has been trying to gain FDA approval for its treatment for a number of years. But the agency again held the process back, saying it needed more data to support marketing approval for remestemcel-L in the world's top economy.
Although the company said it would continue to pursue future approval, Mesoblast shares crashed 56.9% on Friday and tumbled another 12.8% yesterday.
What's sending the Recce Pharmaceuticals share price soaring?
Moving on from the continuing slide for Mesoblast shares to this rocketing ASX biotech stock, investor enthusiasm looks to be stoked by a positive announcement released this morning.
Recce is developing a new class of synthetic anti-infectives.
One of those is RECCE 327 Gel, an experimental compound not yet market-approved for use in humans.
According to the release, RECCE 327 showed a positive clinical response in the treatment of multiple antibiotic-resistant infections under the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Special Access Scheme Category A.
The compound was administered via a new Gel formulation, with the ex vivo burn wound study indicating a 99.99% reduction against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
Commenting on the promising results, Recce Pharmaceuticals CEO James Graham said:
Antibiotic resistance is globally recognised as one of the greatest threats to human health today. To see Recce making a difference to patients in such great medical need before us, is another welcomed sign of new hope in the fight against drug-resistant superbugs.
The company said that clinical trial preparations are underway across multiple unmet medical needs.
How have Mesoblast shares been performing relative to Recce?
While both ASX biotech stocks remain down over the past 12 months, Recce has outperformed Mesoblast.
Since this time last year, Recce shares are down 18% while Mesoblast shares have sunk 54%.
