Biogen gains as analysts raise numbers after Roche's gantenerumab failure

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By Senad Karaahmetovioc

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) shares are trading more than 5% higher in pre-market Monday after rival Roche (OTC:RHHBY) presented disappointing results for its Alzheimer’s treatment gantenerumab.

Much-awaited results showed gantenerumab failed its phase 3 trial. While the drug was well tolerated, the level of beta-amyloid was lower than expected.

RBC analysts believe the trial results “remove a competitor which could have had an advantage of a more convenient formulation.”

“We think that it also raises a slight risk as lecanemab is the only drug that has worked so far by targeting the amyloid pathway, and we think FDA may add more scrutiny to the Ph.III data from the CLARITY AD to understand why the study worked,” the analysts said in a client note.

Stifel analysts are more positive as they raised the price target on Biogen to $331 per share, up from the prior $299 after removing any share from Roche's gantenerumab in their Alzheimer's market model.

“We believe the gant failure further increases the likelihood that lecanemab--on the back of strong efficacy data and best-in-class safety data--could be the leading anti-amyloid therapy within a $10B+ market,” they wrote in a note.

Wolfe analysts added that the trial failure is a boost for Biogen and Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY). For Roche, this is a clear setback although “not one that was totally unexpected.”

At 08:00 ET (13:00 GMT), Roche (SIX:RO) shares are down 4.5% in European trading. LLY shares are up about 1.8% in U.S. pre-market trading.