{
  "id": 6357640,
  "title": "Novartis Shares Slide After Neuromuscular Candidate Acquired with Avidity Fails Phase III Trial",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/novartis-shares-slide-after-neuromuscular-candidate-acquired-with",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-09T01:03:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "GEN Biotechnology",
    "slug": "gen-biotechnology",
    "url": "https://www.genengnews.com/topics/translational-medicine/novartis-shares-slide-after-neuromuscular-candidate-acquired-with-avidity-fails-phase-iii-trial/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Novartis stock experienced its largest single-day drop since the COVID-19 pandemic after the pharmaceutical company announced that its neuromuscular candidate delpacibart etedesiran (del-desiran) failed a crucial Phase III trial evaluating the antibody oligonucleotide conjugate (AOC) in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). Del-desiran fell short of the study's primary objective of demonstrating statistically significant improvement compared to placebo in video Hand Opening Time (vHOT), a widely used measure of hand myotonia. Despite this setback, Novartis acknowledged evidence of clinical activity in exploratory analyses and secondary endpoints, including hand grip strength, quantitative Muscle Testing composite score, muscle activity and participation scale, and the 10-Meter Walk/Run Test. The company stated that it is thoroughly examining the complete HARBOR trial dataset and will engage with regulatory authorities to determine the most suitable development path for del-desiran. Novartis' president and chief medical officer, Shreeram Aradhye, emphasized that setbacks are inherent in scientific progress and that the company remains committed to advancing innovative therapies for individuals with DM1 and other severe neuromuscular diseases. This failure marks Novartis' third clinical setback in a week, following the Phase III Lp(a)HORIZON trial failure of their co-developed pelacarsen and the recent suspension of eight trials assessing their autoimmune and neurological disease candidate rapcabtagene autoleucel (rap-cel) due to three patient deaths from immune effector cell-associated hemophagocytic syndrome.",
  "summary": "Del-desiran failed the Phase III HARBOR trial (NCT06411288) by missing the study’s primary endpoint of statistically significant improvement vs. placebo in video Hand Opening Time (vHOT) through week 54. vHOT is a frequently used measure of hand myotonia, according to a 2024 study, and involves clinical experts reviewing videos to measure the time from hand grip to opening. The post Novartis…",
  "key_points": [
    "Novartis shares plummet 16% after DM1 candidate del-desiran fails Phase III trial",
    "Del-desiran fell short of primary objective in video Hand Opening Time (vHOT) improvement",
    "Novartis to review HARBOR trial data and explore development path for del-desiran"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Novartis's failure of del-desiran in a Phase III trial dealing a blow to its neuromuscular pipeline, compounds recent setbacks and puts pressure on the company's efforts to develop treatments for severe neuromuscular diseases.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}