Wall Street takes a closer look at Amgen weight loss drug data | Wilnesh News

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Wall Street is taking a closer look at key data released last week Amgen’Experimental Weight Loss Injection – A Potential Competitor in the Market of Best-Selling Diet Pills.

Some analysts said preliminary mid-term trial results appeared generally positive. But they noted that questions remain about the drug’s efficacy and how well patients will tolerate it.

We likely won’t get more answers until the company releases complete data from the study. These included results from the second part of the trial, which examined how long MariTide’s weight loss effects lasted.

Investors were initially unhappy. Amgen’s shares fell more than 11% at the open last Tuesday as results appeared to fall slightly short of Wall Street’s lofty expectations for the drug.

The injection, called MariTide, helped obese patients lose an average of 20% of their weight after one year without plateauing. Ahead of the data, several analysts said they expected MariTide to show at least 20% weight loss in the Phase 2 trial, with some hoping for 25%.

Based on late-stage research, the comparison of this product with existing injections on the market is as follows:

• Novo NordiskWegovy shows it reduces weight by 15% in 68 weeks
• Eli Lilly and CompanyZepbound helps patients lose more than 22% of body weight in 72 weeks

But BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said in a note last week that last Tuesday’s stock reaction reflected “excessive expectations for percentage weight loss without taking into account easier The value of drug administration”.

Notably, Amgen is testing MariTide as a monthly or even less frequent injection, which is much more convenient for patients long-term than the weekly injections from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

“The MariTide data firmly establishes Amgen as a competitor in the obesity and diabetes indications, with today showing compelling weight loss results in both indications,” Seigerman said.

In trials, MariTide also helped people with obesity and type 2 diabetes lose 17% of their body weight after one year.

The drug’s efficacy may also improve, Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said in a report last week. Yee says that a 20% weight loss after one year (with no plateau) may increase to 25% by 18 months. In contrast, most of the weight loss caused by Zepbound plateaued within a year, he noted.

The most common side effects of MariTide are gastrointestinal effects, including nausea, vomiting, and constipation. Nausea and vomiting were mainly mild and associated with the first dose of MariTide.

Amgen said the incidence of nausea and vomiting was also significantly reduced with dose escalation, which is when patients start taking a lower dose of MariTide and then gradually increase the dose over a specific period of time until they reach a higher target dose.

About 11% of patients in the dose-escalation group discontinued treatment due to any adverse side effects, while less than 8% discontinued treatment specifically due to gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea and vomiting.

Amgen reported that 70% of patients in the dose-escalation group experienced nausea and 40% experienced vomiting.

However, Amgen said another early-stage study it conducted found that patients who started with a lower initial dose of MariTide experienced a substantial reduction in these incidences, resulting in about 50% of patients reporting nausea and 20% reporting vomiting.

This seems to be higher than the nausea and vomiting levels of Zepbound and Wegovy. Still, Segelman said, the mild severity of these side effects and “the isolated timing of the events at the start of treatment gave us confidence that they could be managed.”

He added that he was “encouraged by the reductions” resulting from increased doses.

JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott said in a research note last week that Amgen will explore lower starting doses in MariTide’s Phase 3 trial. He noted that the company believes “further improving tolerability in Phase 3 trials will be key to the potential application of this asset.”

In a report last week, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger outlined key issues that will need clarification after the full results of the trial are released. He said this included detailed data on how well patients tolerated the drug without increasing the dose, as well as data on weight loss in non-diabetic patients who received the highest dose of the drug.

Please feel free to send Annika any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data: annikakim.constantino@nbcuni.com.

GE Healthcare announced on Monday that it will fully acquire Japanese radiopharmaceutical company Nihon Medi-Physics (NMP). GE Healthcare has held a 50% stake in the company since 2004 and will acquire the remaining half from Sumitomo Chemical, according to a report. release.

Tokyo-based NMP was founded in 1973. GE HealthCare said NMP operates 13 manufacturing plants and does its own research and development.

Radiopharmaceuticals are becoming an increasingly competitive market as companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZenecaEli Lilly and Company and Novartis There is a race to develop them. Two radioactive drugs from Novartis, Pluvicto and Lutathera, are now available in the United States

NMP had revenue of approximately $183 million last year, according to a news release. Prior to Monday’s announcement, GE Healthcare held three seats on NMP’s board of directors.

“This will strengthen our precision care strategy in Asia and our existing footprint in Japan, where our contrast agents and medical devices are used every day to enable nationwide Imaging procedures.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed and are expected to close early next year, according to the release. The acquisition remains subject to regulatory approval.

Solomon Partners advised GE HealthCare on the transaction.

GE HealthCare announced the acquisition at the Radiological Society of North America 2024 Annual Meeting in Chicago, where it also shared numerous other updates. This week, the company launched new products 3D MRI Study the basic model, New SPECT/CT solution and a new commit In addition, information is provided to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Read the full press release on GE Healthcare’s acquisition of NMP here.

Please feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Ashley at ashley.capoot@nbcuni.com.