Merck shares sink after MS drug fails in latest trial

Shares in German science and technology giant Merck plunged 13% on Wednesday after its multiple sclerosis drug didn't meet expectations in a late-stage trial.

The company announced that evobrutinib didn't meet its primary endpoint in a phase-three clinical trial investigating the efficacy and safety of the drug in reducing relapse rates for multiple sclerosis patients, when compared with another drug on the market.

“With evobrutinib, our aim was to address the significant unmet need of smoldering MS in addition to strong relapse control for people living with this condition,” said Danny Bar-Zohar, the chief medical officer and head of R&D of Merck's healthcare business.

“While we are very disappointed with the results, we continue to advance our strategy in healthcare with a focus on progressing our marketed portfolio and internal pipeline, complemented by external innovation, with the aim of bringing more medicines to patients, faster."

The stock was down 12.6% at €141.55 by 1155 CET.