What happened
Shares of The Medicines Company (MDCO), a biopharmaceutical company focused on lowering cholesterol, are on the move again following yesterday's presentation of the Orion-11 trial results. Healthcare-minded investors pleased with the details drove the stock 10.4% higher on Tuesday.
So what
Last week, The Medicines Company stock jumped after the company announced positive results from Orion-11, the first of three pivotal studies with inclisiran that the company will present before the end of 2019. The Medicines Company kept a lid on the details until yesterday's presentation at the European Society of Cardiology's annual meeting, and investors are happy with what they saw.
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Inclisiran is a twice-yearly injection for people with stubbornly high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The Orion-11 study was looking for a significant improvement to patients' LDL-C scores, and it succeeded on this front. At the 510-day observation, inclisiran delivered placebo-adjusted LDL-C reductions of 54% without any serious side effects.
Now what
Later this year, The Medicines Company will present results from Orion-9, a study with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia patients. This group is frequently injected with PCSK9 inhibitors, such as Repatha from Amgen (AMGN -0.19%), every other week.
We'll also see results from Orion-10, and they'll probably look a lot like Orion-11 results. The Orion-11 trial enrolled people throughout Europe with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) or equivalent risk factors. Orion-10 is essentially the U.S. version of Orion-11, with one slight difference: Orion-10 is full of patients with ASCVD.
It's still a little early, but investors can probably look forward to more positive results this year and a new drug application in 2020. Peak annual sales of inclisiran are expected to top $2 billion, and signs The Medicines Company can make it happen could drive the stock much higher down the line.
