Biogen, Eisai stocks soar on Alzheimer's success, lifting rival shares (updated)

Prothena

28/09/2022 10:47

(Adds analyst, background, shares of smaller companies)
    By Natalie  Grover
       LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Shares in Biogen  BIIB.O 
and Eisai  4523.T  soared on Wednesday reflecting the surprise
trial success of their experimental Alzheimer's drug, which also
lifted the stocks of rival drugmakers Roche  ROG.S  and Eli
Lilly  LLY.N .  
    Nearly all drugs tested to treat Alzheimer's - a fatal brain
disease that affects an estimated 55 million globally - have
stumbled in clinical trials. 
    Against the odds, Biogen and Eisai on Tuesday said their
experimental drug, lecanemab, slowed progress of the
brain-wasting disease by 27% compared with a placebo, in a large
trial of patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N30Y2XV 
    Biogen's stock surged 50% in early premarket trading. Shares
of Eisai jumped 17% to the daily limit in Tokyo. 
    Shares of Roche, which is expected to report results on a
rival Alzheimer's drug gantenerumab later this year, jumped as
much as 6% to a two-month high in early trading.
     Data on Eli Lilly's competing drug, donanemab, is expected 
by mid-2023. The U.S. drugmaker's stock was up 7.8% before the
bell on Wednesday.  
    The three drugs target a toxic protein plaque known as
amyloid beta that has long been considered crucial to arresting
the progression of the fatal brain disease, but previous
attempts have led to failure after failure. 
    This so-called amyloid hypothesis suffered a particularly
heavy blow last year, after U.S. regulators overruled their own
panel of outside experts to approve another Biogen drug called
Aduhelm, based on its plaque-clearing ability rather than proof
that it helped slow cognitive decline.
    The latest trial boost for Biogen and Eisai's lecanemab has
raised hope for success in trials testing Roche's gantenerumab
and Lilly's donanemab. 
    The Biogen and Eisai data is the biggest breakthrough in
Alzheimer’s for decades in terms of potential patient impact,
said Daniel Chancellor, healthcare analyst at Citeline.  
    "There haven’t been many wins to celebrate, nor anything
close to approaching a return on investment, so it is important
that results like this are rewarded and incentivised," he said.
     "Companies that can establish an anti-amyloid antibody
market will then look for ways to compete and differentiate, and
part of this will undoubtedly be through building a non-amyloid
pipeline and/or exploring combination treatment strategies." 
    Shares of smaller Alzheimer's drug developers also rose in
premarket U.S. trading. Prothena Corporation Plc  PRTA.O  jumped
36.5% to $42.21, while shares of Acumen Pharmaceuticals Inc
 ABOS.O  rose 29.4% to $6.08.
 (Reporting by Natalie Grover in London and additional reporting
by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely)
 ((natalie.grover@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @NatalieGrover;))