Overall, the stock market is facing a serious case of the jitters on Wednesday morning, as investors wait anxiously for the coming decision on interest rates from the Federal Reserve later this afternoon. Stock index futures are pointing toward a slightly higher open on Wall Street, but another steep drop in energy markets suggests more worries about a possible recession ahead.
In the biopharmaceutical industry, however, there were a couple of pieces of good news. Shares of Eli Lilly (LLY -1.00%) got a boost after the drugmaker announced its latest clinical trial results. Shareholders in ImmunoGen (IMGN), however, got a much bigger boost to their portfolio values following similarly encouraging results from its own research. Read on to get the details and find out why investors and patients alike are so excited about the news.
Lilly looks to treat Alzheimer's more effectively
Shares of Eli Lilly jumped more than 6% early Wednesday morning, adding more than $20 billion to the drugmaker's market capitalization. The latest results from the company's phase 3 study of its donanemab treatment for early Alzheimer's disease were encouraging in helping to slow the impact of the debilitating illness.
The Trailblazer-ALZ 2 study sought to establish a primary endpoint of slowing the decline in a key rating scale of Alzheimer's-induced impairment, and the results were favorable. The rate of decline slowed 35% for patients taking donanemab, and those patients also had a 40% smaller decline in their ability to perform activities of daily living 18 months into the study. Among participants, 47% showed no decline on a scale measuring clinical dementia after one year of treatment, compared to 29% taking a placebo.
The news wasn't entirely positive for Lilly, as there continued to be some serious and life-threatening risks associated with donanemab. However, the company still intends to make a submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during the current quarter, and it wants to find the fastest path forward to gain approval both in the U.S. and elsewhere across the globe.
With the news, patients can hope to be able to manage their finances, drive vehicles, engage in hobbies, and converse about current events longer. If Lilly is able to move forward as quickly as it wants and the drugmaker gets a favorable decision from the FDA, then those patients could enjoy the benefits of donanemab soon -- and Lilly shareholders could get a nice boost as well.
ImmunoGen stock soars on positive cancer treatment news
Investors in ImmunoGen saw a much larger percentage jump in their shares, as the biotech stock came close to doubling in premarket trading early Wednesday. Favorable news from the antibody-drug conjugate specialist made shareholders confident in the company's future.
ImmunoGen announced positive top-line data from its confirmatory Mirasol phase 3 clinical trial, which is looking to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its Elahere therapy for a particular type of ovarian cancer. Elahere lengthened overall survival rates to 16.46 months, compared to 12.75 months for those receiving traditional chemotherapy treatments. In addition, the ImmunoGen therapy showed a 35% reduction in the risk of tumor progression or death, and favorable objective response rates were much higher among those taking Elahere.
Based on the news, ImmunoGen intends to submit a supplemental biologics license application to switch the FDA's prior accelerated approval for Elahere into a regular approval in the second half of 2023. It will also file similar paperwork in Europe to tap into that market.
Elahere has already been a game changer for ImmunoGen, and full FDA approval could open up an even bigger market for the treatment. Given that this is the first commercial launch that ImmunoGen has done on its own, investors are understandably excited about what could come from Elahere in the future.
