NewLink Genetics Corp. shares fell as much as 15% in premarket trade Monday after the company said it won't proceed as planned with a late-stage trial of its indoximod for advanced melanoma. The company will instead look at the possibility of another randomized evaluation of the drug for melanoma, a decision made after "the failure of a competitor's trial... in a similar clinical setting," NewLink said, referring to the failure of a similar drug in a Merck and Incyte trial earlier this month. The phase 3 trial, called Indigo301, aimed to test indoximod in combination with Merck's cancer drug Keytruda or Bristol-Myers Squibb's cancer drug Opdivo Sunday's NewLink announcement wasn't unexpected, as the company previously said it planned to review its clinical programs after the Merck/Incyte trial results. More unexpected, however, was the decision to stick its news at the end of another press release, regarding early results for indoximod in pediatric progressive brain tumors. NewLink shares have dropped 38% over the last month, compared with a 0.6% rise in the S&P 500