Merck Announces Positive Data From Trials For Cholesterol Drug, But Retail Reaction Is Sluggish

Merck (MRK) on Monday announced positive results from the first two of three late-stage clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of its oral cholesterol drug, sending shares of the company trading marginally higher in the morning.  

Enlicitide Decanoate, an investigational drug, is being evaluated for the treatment of adults with hyperlipidemia on lipid-lowering therapies, including at least a statin.

Hyperlipidemia is a disorder characterized by an excess of lipids or fats in the blood, affecting approximately 86 million adults aged 20 and older in the U.S. Hyperlipidemia is a major risk driver for the development of heart attacks and strokes.

The two late-stage trials successfully met their primary and all key secondary endpoints, demonstrating statistically significant and clinically meaningful greater reductions in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) for enlicitide compared to placebo and compared to other oral non-statin therapies.

Dean Y. Li, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said that the company is working with urgency to make the oral therapy available to patients worldwide.

Enlicitide is designed to lower LDL-C, commonly called bad cholesterol, via the same biological mechanism as currently approved monoclonal antibody injectable PCSK9 inhibitors, but in a daily pill form. PCSK9 inhibitors are a class of drugs that reduce LDL cholesterol by blocking the action of a protein called PCSK9.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Merck fell from 'bullish' to 'neutral' territory over the past 24 hours while message volume remained at 'normal' levels.

MRK stock is down by 20% this year and by 40% over the past 12 months.

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