Novartis shares fell roughly 9%–13% after del-desiran failed to meet the primary endpoint in the Phase 3 HARBOR trial for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1).
The study found no statistically significant improvement versus placebo in video hand-opening time, a measure of delayed muscle relaxation in DM1 patients.
Del-desiran was the centerpiece of Novartis’s approximately $12 billion acquisition of Avidity Biosciences, making the result a major test of the deal’s value.
Novartis said the drug showed some signals of clinical activity in secondary or exploratory analyses and that it will review the full dataset before deciding whether to continue development.
The setback compounded recent pipeline disappointments, including the failure of the Phase 3 Lp(a)HORIZON trial for cardiovascular drug pelacarsen.
The share-price decline reportedly erased about 24 billion Swiss francs, or roughly $30 billion, from Novartis’s market value, while increasing scrutiny of CEO Vas Narasimhan’s acquisition strategy.
Sources:
Novartis stock slides as centerpiece of $12B Avidity buyout ...
Novartis Stock Falls 12% on Its Third Trial Setback In a Week
Novartis Avidity Drug Fails in Third Trial Setback in a Week
Novartis Stock Craters After Third Drug Trial Setback in One Week
Novartis’ $12bn Avidity bet falters on late-stage del-desiran flop
Watch Novartis (NVS) Sees Avidity Drug Suffer Third Clinical-Trial Setback
Novartis successfully completes acquisition of Avidity ...
Novartis Stock Drops as Trial Failures Ripple Across Biotech Partners
Novartis Crashes 13.5% After $12 Billion Deal's Lead Drug Fails
Novartis twin drug setbacks pile pressure on pipeline and CEO
Novartis CEO defends $12 billion deal for Avidity as 'appropriate risk to take'
Novartis takes a hit as del-desiran misses in phase 3
Novartis del-desiran fails late-stage trial, shares ...
Novartis AG Stock (NVS) Opened Down by 12.63% on Sep 8: What Investors Need To Know