The FDA will request Sarepta Therapeutics stop all shipments of Elevidys, its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, following two deaths tied to the product.

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT), the leader in precision genetic medicine for rare diseases, today issued the following statement:

Second patient death from liver failure after Sarepta's Elevidys gene therapy triggers FDA investigation. Stock crashes 41% as company halts non-ambulatory patient treatments.

As mothers of children with this disease, we have wept helplessly in recent months as friends — fellow members of a club we never asked to join — said goodbye to their sons, the babies they once held in their arms, whose dreams they held in their hearts until Duchenne robbed them of working muscles or a healthy future.

Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics plunged more than 30% on Friday as the future of its approved gene therapy appeared at risk. Sarepta has reported three patient deaths related to its gene therapies.

The restructuring enacted by Sarepta Therapeutics is expected to save up to $400 million in annual costs. Read why I'm downgrading SRPT stock from Hold to Sell.

On an investor call Friday, analysts grilled the company over its apparent lack of transparency on the matter.

Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics plummeted Friday following a report that a third patient has died during a clinical trial for one of its medications.

Three patients with a muscle-wasting disease died from liver failure after taking the therapy, Ele­vidys, or a similar treatment.