Amgen Stock Sinks On Modest Obesity Drug Results, But Retail Sentiment Remains Steady

Amgen’s weight-loss drug candidate MariTide is meant to be administered subcutaneously monthly or less frequently in obese or overweight patients without Type 2 diabetes.

Amgen, Inc. ($AMGN) shares nosedived in Tuesday’s pre-market session after the biopharma announced Phase-2 data for its investigational weight-loss drug MariTide.

MariTide, an antibody peptide conjugate, is meant to be administered subcutaneously monthly or less frequently in obese or overweight patients without Type 2 diabetes. 

Mid-stage study data showed about 20% average weight loss at week 52 without a weight-loss plateau. This suggests scope for further weight loss beyond 52 weeks. 

Amgen said the study also showed that obese and overweight people with Type 2 diabetes, who typically lose less weight with GLP-1 therapies, achieved up to about 17% average weight loss, also without a weight-loss plateau. 

The popular approved weight-loss drugs in the market, namely Eli Lilly & Co 's ($LLY) Zepbound and Novo Nordisk A/S ($NVO), belong to the GLP-1 class of drugs. 

MariTide, chemically maridebart cafraglutide, also demonstrated robust and clinically meaningful improvements in cardiometabolic parameters, including blood pressure, triglycerides and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein across doses, Amgen said. 

There were no significant increases in free fatty acids, the company added.

The most common adverse event in the study was gastrointestinal-related, including nausea, vomiting and constipation.

Thousand Oaks, California-based Amgen said it would present the data from the Phase 1 study at a future medical congress.

Jay Bradner, EVP, R&D, and chief scientific officer at Amgen, said, "These results provide us confidence to initiate MARITIME, a Phase 3 program across obesity and a number of related conditions, providing a unique potential new treatment option for patients."

In premarket trading, as of 8:50 am ET, Amgen stock was down a steep 13.31% to $254.86. 

Rival weight-loss drug makers had a green premarket session, partly in sympathy with Amgen and partly due to the optimism around the Biden administration’s new proposal to provide expanded Medicare, Medicaid coverage for weight-loss drugs.

The negative stock reaction is attributable to the drug underperforming relative to heightened expectations of some analysts, who were hoping for up to 25% average weight loss, CNBC reported.

Retail, however, cheered the data readout, with users on the Stocktwits platform staying 'bullish' (64/100) on the stock, Massage volume improved to 'high.'

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