Apogee Therapeutics shares crumbled Monday, reversing a steep premarket gain, despite promising results for what could become a quarterly or twice-yearly shot to control eczema.
After 16 weeks, patients experienced a 71% decrease in symptoms, as measured by the Eczema Area and Severity Index, or EASI.
Importantly, nearly 67% patients experienced at least a three-quarters reduction in their symptoms, widely beating out the placebo group. The results closely lined up with eczema treatments already on the market, including Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' Dupixent and Eblyss from Eli Lilly.
The results also suggest Apogee's drug could improve with higher doses, analysts said.
"We view the strong efficacy, responses as early as 2 weeks, unremarkable safety profile, and infrequent (every three months) or even (every six months) dosing as a market-beating profile," Wedbush analyst David Nierengarten said in a note to clients.
But at the close, Apogee shares slumped 17.3% to 39.24. That reversed from a double-digit premarket gain and shares undercut their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, MarketSurge shows.
Apogee's Drug Numerically Tops Rivals
Guggenheim analyst Seamus Fernandez focused on the EASI-75 score, or a 75% reduction in symptoms. More than two-thirds of patients, 66.9%, who received Apogee's drug hit that mark, compared to 55% of patients in Lilly's Phase 3 Ebglyss study and 48% in the final-phase test for Dupixent.
Apogee's drug topped the placebo by 42.5%, beating out the placebo-adjusted scores for Ebglyss and Dupixent, at a respective 38% and 34%, Fernandez said in a report.
He also said the responses appeared to be better with higher doses. The second part of Apogee's study could prove that point in the middle of next year. Apogee Therapeutics also announced plans to start Phase 3 testing in 2026.
Wedbush's Nierengarten says strong Phase 2 results usually predict Phase 3 success.
"Management's commentary indicated strong interest in front-line monotherapy use in addition to the post-Dupixent population," he said. An upcoming study pits Apogee's drug, APG777, against Dupixent. "We believe superior efficacy is likely based on '777 monotherapy results presented today."
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