Medicines Company Shares Soar On Rumored Buyout Interest From Novartis

Shares of The Medicines Company MDCO, which have climbed over 200% in the year-to-date period, are seeing further momentum Tuesday following a Bloomberg report of takeover interest.

The stock climbed about 13% Monday after the company presented detailed results of a Phase 3 study dubbed ORION-9, the third Phase 3 study, at the annual American Heart Association meeting, showing its only pipeline asset inclisiran, a small interfering RNA, or siRNA, therapy, met all primary and secondary efficacy endpoints and was well tolerated.

Cholesterol Drug In The Works Attracts Interest

Novartis AG NVS has had talks with Medicines Company regarding a potential acquisition, with the Swiss pharma giant conducting due diligence on the latter, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The report also hinted at more suitors entering the fray.

Inclisiran is a potential blockbuster in the making, with analyst upbeat about its prospects.

"It's a potentially disruptive player in the high-potential anti-PCSK9 lipid management market, valued at $23.6 billion in 2030," Chardan analyst Gbola Amusa said earlier this year.

Data from ORION-11, the first Phase 3 trial of inclisiran released in early September showed the investigational therapy brought about placebo-adjusted LDL-C reductions of 54% at day 510, and time-averaged placebo-adjusted LDL-C reductions of 50% from days 90 through 540.

Novartis' Quest For Inorganic Growth

Novartis has been aggressively pursuing inorganic growth in a bid to beef up its product portfolio with innovative drugs presenting significant growth opportunities. The addition of inclisiran would likely complement Novartis' heart drug portfolio.

Inclisiran, if approved, will be up against other PCSK9 inhibitors currently in the market, including Amgen, Inc. AMGN's Repatha and Sanofi SA SNY/ Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc's REGN Pratulent.

Medicines Company shares were rallying 22% $71.09 at time of publication.