Novartis shares (NOVN.CH) are down around 10% today, the steepest decline in the STOXX Europe 600, following another disappointment involving one of the company’s key clinical programs. The Phase III HARBOR trial of the experimental drug del-desiran for the treatment of myotonic dystrophy type 1 failed to meet its primary endpoint. Today’s sell-off is particularly sharp because this marks the second significant clinical setback for Novartis within just a few days.
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The HARBOR trial did not show a statistically significant improvement versus placebo in its primary endpoint, which measured hand-opening time as an indicator of myotonia severity. The study included around 150 patients treated for 54 weeks.
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Novartis nevertheless highlighted that del-desiran showed signs of clinical activity across some secondary endpoints and exploratory analyses. The company intends to review the full dataset before deciding on the next steps for the therapy’s development.
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The negative market reaction was amplified by earlier Phase III Lp(a)HORIZON results for pelacarsen. The drug failed to meet its primary objective of significantly reducing the risk of major cardiovascular events.
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This means that two of the three key studies whose results Novartis has presented over the past week failed to meet their primary objectives, increasing market concerns over the pace at which the company can develop new sources of growth.
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Despite the HARBOR setback, Novartis maintained its medium-term financial targets, including expectations for average annual sales growth of 5% to 6% between 2025 and 2030.
Novartis share price chart (NOVN.CH)
Novartis shares were down around 10% today to approximately CHF 114, reducing their year-to-date gain to less than 5%. If the decline holds, it would rank among the company’s worst single-day performances in decades and the weakest session since 2020. The company’s P/E ratio has cooled to around 20 times earnings.
Source: xStation5
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