Crinetics unveiled "stunning" results Monday from a study of a drug that tamps down on levels of a problematic hormone at the center of congenital adrenal hyperplasia and Cushing's syndrome.
"I've never seen anything like it," Chief Executive Scott Struthers told Investor's Business Daily in an interview ahead of the release.
The company tested its drug, atumelnant, in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or CAH, and Cushing's syndrome. Atumelnant reduces levels of a hormone called ACTH, which plays a role in both diseases.
CAH patients who received atumelnant had "profound, rapid and sustained" reductions in a key steroidal hormone associated with the disease. Cushing's patients, whose bodies make too much cortisol, experienced large reductions in that stress hormone.
Crinetics rose 4.2% to close at 46.28. Shares narrowly rose above their 50-day moving average, according to MarketSurge.
Crinetics Stock Faces Lofty Expectations
Analysts had high expectations heading into the data release, citing the titles of the abstracts Crinetics posted ahead of the Endocrine Society's annual meeting, often called ENDO.
"We believe that atumelnant has the potential to make a positive impact on the medical community based on highly encouraging ENDO abstracts," Leerink Partners analyst Joseph Schwartz said in a May 21 report. He expected atumelnant to have "profound effects in CAH."
Crinetics tested a high dose of atumelnant in four CAH patients for 12 weeks. Within two weeks, all four patients had androstenedione levels below the upper limit of normal.
Androstenedione is a steroidal hormone involved in the production of estrogen and testosterone. It's generally heightened in patients with CAH.
Atumelnant levels were 91% lower at two weeks, 93% lower at six weeks and 96% lower at 12 weeks, on average. That outperformed expectations for 45% to 65%, Leerink analyst Schwartz said.
"In the bull case that androstenedione is lowered by more than 65% and androstenedione is able to be normalized in most patients, we believe the stock could rise around 20%," he said.
Cushing's Syndrome Also Key
In Cushing's syndrome patients, Crinetics focused on levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that's overproduced in patients and shows up in the urine. All five patients had cortisol levels below the upper limit of normal within 10 days of beginning treatment.
Crinetics noted two patients with preexisting stenosis had small increases in liver enzymes. But none of the patients have dropped out of the study to date.
Schwartz kept his outperform rating and 52 price target on Crinetics stock.
Follow Allison Gatlin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_AGatlin.
