The BioWorld Biopharmaceutical Index (BBI) ended 2024 down 2.24%, despite hitting a peak of 25.19% in late August. While it remained in positive territory through November, up 3.58%, the steady decline through the later months of the year pushed the index into the red by December’s close.
Potential implications for others in the space, including Pfizer Inc. and Bridgebio Pharma Inc., became the subject of buzz after Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. provided details from the Helios-B phase III study with RNAi candidate vutrisiran, in the works for ATTR amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy.
Any skepticism that might have been lingering in the wake of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s February decision to tweak the analysis plan for the Helios-B trial testing vutrisiran in transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy appeared to dissipate as the company reported top-line data showing the study met the primary and all secondary endpoints.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s decision to change its analysis plan for the phase III Helios-B trial of RNAi therapeutic Amvuttra (vutrisiran) to treat transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy, pushing top-line results back by three months, pressured its share price (NASDAQ:ALNY) down by 10% on Feb. 15, while also boosting shares of competitor Bridgebio Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BBIO) by 14%.
Armed with strong phase III safety data in Japanese patients, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bridgebio Pharma Inc. is planning to file for Japan approval of its investigational drug acoramidis for a rare heart disorder.
Armed with strong phase III safety data in Japanese patients, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bridgebio Pharma Inc. is planning to file for Japan approval of its investigational drug acoramidis for a rare heart disorder.
Following an unexpected FDA complete response letter (CRL), Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it will no longer pursue an expanded indication for Onpattro (patisiran) in the U.S. The RNAi therapeutic was approved in 2018 to treat polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin-mediated (ATTR) amyloidosis and seemed well on its way to snagging a second U.S. indication after the FDA’s Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee voted 9-3 in September that the drug’s benefits outweighed its risks as a treatment for cardiomyopathy of ATTR amyloidosis. The FDA disagreed with the committee, saying in the CRL that patisiran’s clinical meaningfulness had not been established in the proposed indication.
With Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s FDA clearance for Amvuttra (vutrisiran) in the rearview mirror, investors are looking ahead to potentially label-widening phase III data related to another, already approved drug: Onpattro (patisiran).
The pandemic has forced pharma and biotech to be more agile to better navigate the obstacles and still find success. Supply chain gaps are part of the problem, as are clinical trial delays. Yet the industry has successfully forged ahead in the past year to produce the seven drugs Clarivate believes in the next five years will each earn more than $1 billion annually.
As the company unveiled 18-month results from the phase III study called Helios-A, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s president of R&D, Akshay Vaishnaw, said “new exploratory data with the cardiac endpoints are extremely encouraging.” The study is testing RNAi therapy vutrisiran in polyneuropathy associated with hereditary transthyretin-mediated (hATTR) amyloidosis, where Helios-A met all secondary endpoints measured at 18 months.
