Novartis AG, the worlds leading drug maker by revenue, saw its stock reach a new all-time high today, after the company announced stunningly successful test results of its new heart failure drug.
The announcement at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Barcelona on Saturday revealed the widely anticipated success of the largest heart failure study ever done. The tested drug, LCZ696, applied to more than 8 400 patients worldwide, reduced cardiovascular deaths by 20% when compared with enalapril, a generic drug widely used for heart failure treatment today.
The drug is designed for patients with chronic heart failure, a condition in which the heart doesnt pump blood efficiently. The disease affects 26 million people each year, while cardiovascular diseases in general account for more deaths worldwide than any other cause, according to the World Health Organization.
“Novartis new heart failure medicine, LCZ696, represents one of the most important cardiology advances of the last decade,” said David Epstein, Division Head at Novartis Pharmaceuticals. “The magnitude of benefit with LCZ696 against enalapril in HF-REF patients was highly statistically significant and clinically important,” the company statement added.
Doctors were excited for the medical implications, while business analysts saw significant financial benefits to follow, projecting annual revenue from the drug ranging from $2bn to $8bn.
“When there are mortality benefits, treatment definitely follows,” Christopher Cannon, a cardiologist at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, said for The Wall Street Journal. “The stars are aligning for everyone wanting to use this new medication.”
Novartis plans to file the application for marketing authorization in the EU in early 2015, the company statement said, while the US FDA has granted the drug a priority review and will hasten the application and approval process, which should be through by the end of 2014.
“It will be possibly the most exciting launch the company has ever had.” Mr Epstein said at a conference call. “This is going to become one of our key brands. It’s clearly a multi-billion dollar opportunity.”
Novartis AG was up 3.52% by 9:21 GMT to trade at CHF 85.25 per share (~$92.86), an all-time high, logging a one-year increase of 25.64% and valuing the company at CHF 231.03bn (~$251.66bn).
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