What was the outcome of Novartis' Phase III HARBOR study for del-desiran, and what was the primary endpoint?

Novartis' Phase III HARBOR study for del-desiran failed to show a statistically significant improvement over placebo on the primary endpoint of video hand-opening time, a measure of hand myotonia, in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1.

How has the del-desiran trial failure impacted Novartis' stock and market value, and what context does this have within its recent pipeline performance?

The del-desiran trial failure sent Novartis' shares down about 9%—one of its worst trading days on record—with shares falling more than 10% at one point and wiping about 24 billion Swiss francs ($29.6 billion) off the company's market value; this setback marks the second major trial failure in days and the second miss among three key pipeline readouts in 2024, following a recent failure of its cholesterol drug in a closely watched study.

Novartis Twin Drug Setbacks Pile Pressure on Pipeline and CEO

Sep 7, 2026

Novartis shares fell nearly 9% after a failed late-stage trial for its muscle-wasting disorder drug, the second major pipeline setback this year. The failure pressures CEO Vas Narasimhan's acquisition strategy and removes a key growth driver before patent expiries.

reuters

2026-09-07

Novartis Twin Drug Setbacks Pile Pressure on Pipeline and CEO

Novartis Twin Drug Setbacks Pile Pressure on Pipeline and CEO

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