Novartis Suffers Third Drug Trial Setback in a Week and Faces Worst Trading Day in Years
On September 8, 2026, shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) fell approximately 10% after its experimental drug del-desiran failed to meet primary goals in late-stage trials for myotonic dystrophy type 1. This marked the company's third clinical setback within a week following failures involving pelacarsen and an eight-trial pause due to patient deaths related to rap-cel therapy. The stock decline erased roughly $29.6 billion (or about 24 billion Swiss francs) in market value, marking one of Novartis' worst trading days on record. Despite these setbacks, the company reaffirmed its full-year financial guidance and long-term sales growth target of 5% to 6% annually through 2030. Investors remain focused on remibrutinib as a potential pipeline catalyst following positive late-stage results in multiple sclerosis. However, recent failures have raised concerns about Novartis' ability to replace revenue from aging drugs like Entresto and the value of its $12 billion Avidity acquisition. The del-desiran failure has also impacted investor sentiment beyond Novartis itself, with shares of Dyne Therapeutics and Sarepta Therapeutics falling in response. Hedge fund positions have shifted accordingly, reflecting growing uncertainty about the company's pipeline strategy.
Tickers: $NVS
Topics: clinical trial failure pharma R&D risk pipeline setbacks stock price drop