Sanofi/Regeneron's Dupixent Succeeds In Phase II Study

Sanofi (PA:SASY), Inc. (NYSE:SNY) and partner Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) announced that a phase II study evaluating its injection Dupixent for the treatment of adults with active moderate-to-severe eosinophilic esophagitis met its primary endpoint.

Sanofi’s shares have risen 22.7% this year so far compared with 18.3% increase for the industry.

Dupixent is already marketed for treating atopic dermatitis (AD)/eczema in the United States since March this year and was approved for AD in the EU last month.

Eosinophilic esophagitis is a chronic, allergic inflammatory disease in which the patients suffer from difficulty in swallowing. Presently, this condition, mainly caused by food allergies, is treated only with diet modification, corticosteroids or surgery.

Data from the study showed that patients treated with Dupixent injection weekly experienced a significant improvement in the ability to swallow when compared with placebo. Meanwhile, treatment with dupilumab weekly also led to significant improvement in the severity of inflammation of the esophagus and endoscopic signs of the disease. Please note that Dupixent enjoys orphan drug designation for this indication.

We are optimistic on sales prospects of Dupixent, which could prove to be an important growth driver for the company. Dupixent generated sales of €26 million in the second quarter backed by strong demand.

Apart from AD and eosinophilic esophagitis, Dupixent is also being evaluated for other inflammatory indications including asthma and nasal polyposis in late stage studies. Last month, Sanofi and Regeneron announced that Dupixent met its two primary endpoints in a phase III asthma study. Data from the LIBERTY ASTHMA QUEST study showed that Dupixent, when added to standard therapies, reduced severe asthma attacks and improved lung function. Based on this positive data, the companies plan to submit a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the FDA by the end of this year.

Sanofi has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Better-ranked stocks in the large-cap pharma sector include AbbVie, Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) . Both carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

AbbVie’s shares have risen 45.4% this year while its earnings estimates have gone up by 0.2% and 0.5% for 2017 and 2018, respectively over the past 30 days.

Novo Nordisk has seen its share price go up by 37.6%.

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