Investing.com – Shares in Amgen (NASDAQ:) rose in premarket US buying and selling on Wednesday after the drugmaker stated there was no hyperlink between the administration of its MariTide experimental weight-loss therapy and modifications in bone mineral density.
The inventory beforehand shed greater than 7% within the prior session following a report from analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald which urged that their assessment of information on MariTide confirmed it had influenced a dip in bone mineral density. The figures had been first printed within the journal Nature in February.
“The Section 1 research outcomes don’t recommend any bone security concern or change our conviction within the promise of MariTide,” Amgen stated in a press release. “We stay up for sharing the Section 2 topline knowledge later this yr.”
In October, Amgen stated that mid-stage trial outcomes for the possibly profitable weight problems medication could be out there in late 2024. Buyers have subsequently turned their focus to the readout, which may function a sign of Amgen’s place within the race to roll-out weight-loss medicine.
Securing a bit of the weight problems market, which some analysts estimate may soar to be price lots of of billions of {dollars} a yr, would show to be a boon for Amgen’s gross sales. In line with Amgen Chief Scientific Officer Jay Bradner, MariTide could possibly be the primary remedy on this market to require month-to-month and even much less frequent dosing.
CEO Bob Bradway stated Amgen is “properly superior” in making ready to launch a Section 3 testing spherical of MariTide in an effort to have sufficient knowledge to permit the drug to obtain approval from regulators. Amgen has additionally begun to look at a distinct weight-loss drug candidate, though few particulars have been disclosed, Reuters reported.
Amgen posted revenue of $5.58 per share within the third quarter, rising by 13% from a yr earlier and topping analysts estimates, in accordance with LSEG knowledge cited by Reuters.
Income for the interval, in the meantime, got here in at $8.5 billion, roughly assembly expectations.
For the fiscal yr, Amgen guided for earnings of between $19.20 and $20.00 a share, in comparison with its earlier estimate of $19.10 to $20.10. The midpoint of its income outlook was lifted as properly.
Analysts have famous that, given the muted returns and barely altered steerage, traders’ sentiment round Amgen will probably closely rely on the end result of the Section 2 trial of MariTide.
(Reuters contributed reporting.)
