By Vlad Schepkov
Shares of Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) are trading 6% lower on Monday on the news the company’s AXIOMATIC-SSP study of milvexian failed to achieve primary endpoint.
Over the weekend, BMY partook in the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2022, where it announced results of a Phase 2 trial of its investigational oral factor XIa (FXIa) inhibitor, milvexian – the drug showed 30% relative risk reduction in recurrent symptomatic ischemic strokes and demonstrated a strong safety profile but failed to induce a dose response – the study’s primary objective.
A Cowen analyst sees the data as disappointing noting that “lack of dose response, no effect on covert infarcts, dose-related increase in major bleeds, imbalance in deaths, and higher AE discontinuation rate are new questions for milvexian which won't be answered until Phase III reports years from now.”
Post the readout, he views “Phase III program somewhat risky” and keeps the stock at “Market Perform” rating with a $85 Price Target.
A Guggenheim analyst comes off more positive and is “encouraged by the market opportunity this Phase 3 program opens up” but does voice similar concerns and sees “data presented as not warranting more than a 50% PoS on net clinical benefit.”
The analyst thus keeps his “2031 sales forecast of $3.4B unchanged” but reiterates a more bullish stance with a “Buy” rating on the shares.
BMY is trading just above $67 in mid-Monday session, down nearly 6%. The stock is still up ~9% YTD, vs a loss of nearly 27% for the broader biotech index XBI over the same period.