On September 8, Novartis AG fell 13% in pre-market trading. The sharp decline was triggered by the company announcing that its Phase III Harbor study evaluating delpacibart etedesiran in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) failed to meet its primary endpoint of video hand opening time.

According to the announcement, the drug candidate for the genetic muscular disorder did display signs of clinical activity across secondary endpoints measuring muscle strength, daily living activities, and mobility. The company stated it is analyzing the full dataset to determine future development plans while maintaining its five-year annual sales growth target of 5% to 6% through 2030.

Notably, this setback comes just days after another major pipeline failure — Novartis disclosed on September 5 that its Phase III Lp(a)HORIZON trial of pelacarsen also failed to meet its primary endpoint of reducing cardiovascular event risk versus placebo. Two consecutive late-stage clinical failures within a single week have significantly weighed on investor confidence.

Within the Pharmacy sector, the overall tone remained muted. Among peers, Eli Lilly down 0.55%, Johnson & Johnson down 1.09%, Pfizer down 0.60%, Merck up 0.13%, AstraZeneca down 0.20%.

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