Novartis Shares Plunge as Del-desiran Misses Primary Endpoint in Myotonic Dystrophy Trial
核心洞察
Novartis reported that late-stage testing of its del-desiran drug for myotonic dystrophy (搜索) failed to meet its primary endpoint, marking the company's second drug development setback in as many days.
The failure follows a closely watched setback announced Monday, when experimental cholesterol drug pelacarsen failed to deliver positive results in a late-stage trial.
Novartis shares tumbled sharply, falling 8.8% to 10.9% across European trading, and the news weighed on sentiment across the broader pharmaceutical sector.
Novartis came under heavy selling pressure on Tuesday after the Swiss drugmaker disclosed that late-stage testing of its del-desiran drug for myotonic dystrophy (搜索) failed to meet its primary endpoint. The announcement marked the company's second drug development setback in as many days, following a closely watched disappointment announced on Monday when its experimental cholesterol drug pelacarsen failed to deliver positive results in a late-stage trial.
Novartis shares tumbled 8.8% in early European trading, according to Reuters, and plunged as much as 10.9% by the close, as reported by The Irish Times. The decline made the company one of the heaviest drags on European equity benchmarks, with the pan-European STOXX 600 down 0.2% at 648.41 points by 0705 GMT and closing down 0.05% at 649.60.
A Second Setback in Two Days
The del-desiran failure compounds the pressure on Novartis following the pelacarsen result announced a day earlier. Both trials were described as closely watched, reflecting the significance investors and clinicians placed on their outcomes. The back-to-back disappointments highlight the inherent risk of late-stage clinical development, where even well-advanced programs can fail to demonstrate efficacy against their primary endpoints.
The news rippled across the pharmaceutical sector. In London, pharma stocks were the biggest drags on the FTSE 100, with medical products maker Smith+Nephew down 3.6% and index heavyweight AstraZeneca sliding 1.4% as the Novartis setback weighed on sentiment.
Broader Market Context
The drugmaker's decline unfolded against a backdrop of rising oil prices and renewed inflation concerns. Brent crude futures traded near $98.5 per barrel, with The Irish Times reporting that Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis attacked energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, sending Brent to near $99 (€85.24) a barrel earlier in the day. The firmer oil prices fuelled inflation worries and concerns that a Middle East conflict could disrupt supplies.
Investors widely expect the European Central Bank to raise interest rates by 25 basis points on Thursday, while attention also turned to US inflation data due later in the week.
Contrasting Fortunes for Sandoz
In contrast to Novartis, Swiss generic drugs company Sandoz advanced, adding 2.9% in early trading and 4.5% by the close, after the firm said it aims to more than double net sales from 2025 to 2035. The divergent performance underscored how individual pipeline and strategic announcements shaped trading within the healthcare sector on the day.
The dual clinical setbacks for Novartis serve as a reminder of the volatility that late-stage trial outcomes can inject into pharmaceutical valuations, even for one of Europe's largest drugmakers.