Novartis' Cholesterol Drug Fails, Raising Stakes for Amgen and Lilly
AMGN sits 54% above its 52-week low of $269.77.
Summary
Novartis' pelacarsen failed to reduce heart attack and stroke risk in a late-stage trial, casting doubt on the Lp(a)-lowering approach. This raises the bar for Amgen's and Eli Lilly's rival Lp(a) drugs, both in late-stage trials. The failure also increases pressure on Novartis' $12B muscular dystrophy drug del-desiran. Analysts had modeled $3-6B peak sales for pelacarsen. Amgen's own Lp(a) candidate could face heightened scrutiny, but the news may also reduce competitive threat if Amgen's drug succeeds.
At the time of this announcement, AMGN was trading at $415.00 on NASDAQ in the Life Sciences sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $236.4B. The 52-week trading range was $269.77 to $447.03. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Reuters.