Novartis Plunges After $12 Billion Deal's Lead Drug Fails, While AstraZeneca Scores COPD Win

Novartis shares cratered 13.5% this week—their worst single-day drop since the pandemic—after a $12 billion acquisition's lead drug failed a pivotal trial, compounding a separate heart drug collapse days earlier and wiping nearly $30 billion in market value.

Plain English

Novartis spent $12 billion buying Avidity Therapeutics for a promising muscle disease treatment. That drug, del-desiran, just failed its make-or-break final test. Two days before that, another...