Novartis shares tumble 13% after three late-stage drug setbacks hit market

Novartis' stock dropped more than 13% this week after three of its late-stage programs reported setbacks, pulling down other pharma stocks.

The antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate del-desiran failed to meet its primary endpoint in a Phase 3 trial for myotonic dystrophy type 1, showing no improvement in hand-opening time among 160 patients. The drug was part of Novartis' $12 billion purchase of Avidity Biosciences.

The antisense agent pelacarsen did not achieve a statistically significant reduction in cardiovascular risk in a late-stage study, despite lowering lipoprotein(a) levels.

Novartis also paused several Phase 2 studies of the CAR-T therapy rapcabtagene autoleucel after three patient deaths, further weighing on the company's outlook.