Crinetics soars on 'picture perfect' data for hormonal disorder drug

By Sriparna Roy

(Reuters) -Shares of drug developer Crinetics Pharmaceuticals jumped about 72% on Monday after its experimental treatment for a rare hormonal disorder not only succeeded, but performed better than Wall Street's expectations in a late-stage trial.

The trial studied the oral drug in "biochemically controlled" patients who were on injections such as octreotide or lanreotide for the disorder known as acromegaly, in which the body produces an excess of growth hormone.

The company said on Sunday that 83% of patients on its experimental drug paltusotine were able to maintain growth-factor levels, compared to 4% who were receiving the placebo.

Investors had been expecting about 70% of patients to maintain growth-factor levels, according to at least three analysts.

The data is "picture perfect" and the daily oral drug could become the preferred therapy for acromegaly, Oppenheimer analyst Leland Gershell said.

The data boosts investor confidence in the success of a separate mid-stage study testing the drug in patients with carcinoid syndrome, which is a much bigger market, said JMP Securities analyst Jonathan Wolleben.

The syndrome occurs when a rare cancerous tumor called a carcinoid tumor secretes certain chemicals into the bloodstream.

Crinetics expects to report results in the first quarter of 2024 from another late-stage trial evaluating paltusotine in treatment-naïve acromegaly patients.

Pending results from the study, it plans to submit an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration next year, seeking regulatory approval for the drug for all acromegaly patients.

Shares of the company, which had a market capitalization of $873.3 million as of its last closing price, have fallen nearly 13% this year. Its enterprise value-to-sales ratio is 307.97, compared to industry median at 7.42, according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)