Amgen dismisses bone density concerns related to its weight-loss drug
Cantor analysts cited early data suggesting bone safety risk
Amgen confident in drug's profile, plans to release mid-stage study data later this year
Amgen shares partially recover after a 7% decline in previous session
Adds comments from company executive in paragraphs 4 and 9
By Leroy Leo and Bhanvi Satija
Nov 13 (Reuters) -Amgen AMGN.O said on Wednesday there was no link between its experimental weight-loss drug and changes in bone density, a day after those concerns wiped off more than $12 billion from the company's market value.
The drugmaker's stock slumped 7% on Tuesday after analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald said their review of early-stage data on Amgen's MariTide showed a drop in bone mineral density, which can increase the risk of fractures.
Amgen said it has conviction in the promise of MariTide and plans to report data from its mid-stage study later this year.
"The phase two data will speak for itself," the head of global clinical development Narimon Honarpour said at the UBS Healthcare Conference.
Amgen's shares rose as much as 3% to $307.43 and were last trading at $303.25.
Investors are keenly awaiting more data on a drug seen as a contender in the estimated $150 billion market for weight-loss treatments.
Cantor analysts said they found the bone mineral density changes when reviewing supplemental data that was published along with the results in February.
Honarpour said the research note had made an "inappropriate inference" from some "unfinalized" data that was inadvertently published.
At least four analysts said the concerns were overblown, since Amgen was conducting a mid-stage study and planned a larger late-stage trial.
A new safety signal would certainly cause alarm, but Amgen knows much more about MariTide than Wall Street, Piper Sandler analyst Christopher Raymond said.
MariTide activates the GLP-1 hormone associated with the feeling of fullness, similar to popular weight-loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk's NOVOb.CO Wegovy and Eli Lilly's LLY.N Zepbound.
It also blocks the activity of GIP, another gut hormone linked to fat storage. Amgen hopes the different approach will provide quicker weight loss and less frequent dosing compared to Wegovy and Zepbound.
MariTide cut weight by 14.5% in a 49-patient study, according to the data published in Nature Metabolism journal in February.
Amgen stock performance https://reut.rs/3YJzq1z
Reporting by Leroy Leo and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Alan Barona
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