Amgen Stock Sinks Amid Novartis' Disappointing Trial Result

Amgen's stock plummeted by 9.8% to $394.56 on Tuesday, putting it on track for its worst single-day loss since October 2000.

The decline came after Novartis announced that its investigational therapy, pelacarsen, had failed in a pivotal Phase 3 trial to reduce cardiovascular death, heart attacks, or strokes compared to a placebo.

Despite lowering Lp(a) as designed, the treatment did not meet the expected standards. As a result, Amgen's stock took a hit, with investors immediately marking down its olpasiran therapy, which targets the same lipid but uses a different mechanism.

BMO Capital cut Amgen to Market Perform, contributing to the sell-off across biotech stocks, including the iShares Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:IBB), which fell 1.8%.