Ionis, Biogen slip after FDA approves Novartis’ Zolgensma for SMA treatment

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) and Biogen (BIIB) are both moving lower in afternoon trading after Novartis (NVS) announced that Zolgensma was just approved by the FDA for the treatment of pediatric patients less than 2 years of age with spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, with bi-allelic mutations in the survival motor neuron 1 gene. Morgan Stanley analyst Matthew Harrison previously has noted that Biogen’s Spinraza had been the only approved drug for SMA and represents 17% of Biogen’s estimated 2019 sales. Ionis receives royalties from Biogen for Spinraza. Harrison’s base case assumption is that Zolgensma will ultimately capture the majority market share in type 1 patients and a “significant portion” of type 2, or pediatric, patients, he has told investors in a prior research note. Following the announcement of the FDA approval of Zolgensma, Ionis shares are down $1.83, or 3%, to $65.31, while Biogen shares are down $1.55, or 0.7%, to $227.56.

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