What happened Shares of Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IDRA) were crashing 63.5% at 10:49 a.m. EDT on Friday. The plunge came after the company announced disappointing results Thursday from a late-stage study of tilsotolimod in combination with Bristol Myers Squibb's Yervoy in treating advanced melanoma. So what Idera had hoped that the tilsotolimod-Yervoy combo would sail through its pivotal study. That didn't happen. The company reported an objective response rate (the percentage of patients with tumor-size reduction of a predefined amount) for patients taking the combo of only 8.8%. Patients receiving Yervoy by itself had an objective response rate of 8.6%. Image source: Getty Images. Vincent Milano, Idera Pharmaceuticals CEO, said that he and his team "are surprised and disappointed" by the results from the late-stage study. What wasn't a surprise was the reaction from Wall Street. Multiple analysts quickly downgraded the biotech stock. Now what What's next for Idera? The company stated that it's evaluating whether or not to keep the late-stage study going to see if the tilsotolimod-Yervoy combo can meet its overall survival endpoint. There's still at least a sliver of hope that this could happen and set the stage for a path to regulatory approval. Idera will also move forward with its phase 2 study of tilsotolimod and Yervoy in treating microsatellite stable colorectal cancer. 10 stocks we like better than Idera PharmaceuticalsWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Idera Pharmaceuticals wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of February 24, 2021 Keith Speights owns shares of Bristol Myers Squibb. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Bristol Myers Squibb. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source