Bar what it described as a “placebo wobble,” Moonlake Therapeutics AG turned in positive results from the phase III trials of sonelokimab in treating hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), only to see its share price take a complete battering. The stock (Nasdaq:MLTX) fell 90%, or $55.75, to close Sept. 29 at $6.24, after the Zug Switzerland-based company published 16-week data from two identical trials, Vela-1 and Vela-2.
The recent series A financing by Bambusa Therapeutics Inc. to fund bispecific antibodies for immunological and inflammatory disorders proved investor faith in the new approach with a proven mechanism.
The U.S. FDA added hidradenitis suppurativa to the label for UCB SA’s Bimzelx (bimekizumab-bkzx), throwing renewed light on the indication, a chronic disease that causes painful, boil-like lumps that appear under the skin. Regulators cleared the humanized IL-17A and IL-17F antagonist for adults with moderate to severe HS, marking the drug’s fifth approval.
Top-line results from Moonlake Immunotherapeutics AG’s phase II study of sonelokimab treating active psoriatic arthritis encouraged the company but discouraged investors.
Less than a week after Eli Lilly and Co.’s $2.4 billion, IL-17-based buyout of Dice Therapeutics Inc., Moonlake Immunotherapeutics Inc. offered more news in the space by way of data from the global phase II trial called Mira evaluating the efficacy and safety of the Nanobody sonelokimab in moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS).
Novartis AG rolled out positive phase III data Sept. 13 with Cosentyx (secukinumab), its interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitor for hidradenitis suppurativa, offering more evidence for the approach taken up by a handful of biopharma firms.
Moonlake Therapeutics AG is making headway on its mission to establish a broad dermatology and rheumatology franchise around its sole product, sonelokimab, announcing it is poised to start a phase II study in hidradenitis suppurativa.
