Eli Lilly is Tuesday's IBD Stock Of The Day after shares surged into a buy zone, again, on promising test results for a Crohn's disease treatment.
After a year, more than half of the patients who took Eli Lilly's mirikizumab entered remission. And close to half achieved endoscopic responses — meaning evidence of their Crohn's disease under an endoscopy cleared up.
The results occurred in patients who previously worsened while taking another biologic treatment for Crohn's disease. These patients are considered hard to treat.
Just after the opening bell, Eli Lilly stock shot 3% higher. The shares gained 2.6% to close at 803.17. Shares topped a handle out of a double-bottom base. The 795.30 buy point is Lilly's April 30 high, according to MarketSurge.
Eli Lilly stock is the second best performer in the S&P 500 today.
Eli Lilly Stock Jumps On Crohn's Results
Crohn's disease is a chronic, inflammatory bowel disease that can cause irreversible damage to the digestive tract. Achieving remission and endoscopic response are important treatment targets that are difficult to achieve in the same person in a year, Dr. Bruce Sands, a paid consultant for Lilly and a professor and chair at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said.
"Consistent results across patient populations underscore the potential impact of mirikizumab in individuals living with this condition," he said in a statement.
After a year, 39.3% of patients who'd never previously received a biologic treatment and 36.7% of patients who worsened while taking a biologic had an endoscopic response. In comparison, just 11.8% and 6.2% of placebo recipients, respectively, hit the same bar.
Among patients who'd never taken a biologic drug, 47.3% of mirikizumab recipients and 26.5% of placebo patients entered remission after a year. In the patients who worsened while taking a prior biologic, 43.4% of mirikizumab patients entered remission, vs. just 12.4% of the placebo group.
Promisingly for Eli Lilly stock, the company compared mirikizumab to Stelara, a Crohn's drug from Johnson & Johnson's Stelara. After a year, 34.4% of patients who took Lilly's mirikizumab entered remission and had an endoscopic response. In comparison, just 27.9% of Stelara patients reached the same mark.
Safety Is In Line With Earlier Testing
Lilly believes its drug could improve on the standard of care for Crohn's disease. The company has submitted its applications for approval in the U.S. and Europe.
Mirikizumab was as safe in Crohn's patients as it was in earlier testing in ulcerative colitis patients. In fact, placebo recipients reported a higher number of side effects. Those most common side effects were Covid, anemia, joint stiffness, headache, upper respiratory tract infection, stuffy nose and injection site pain.
Tuesday's news put Eli Lilly stock on track to hit an all-time high, based on FactSet data dating back to July 1972.
Eli Lilly stock has a strong IBD Digital Composite Rating of 96 out of a best-possible 99. This means shares rank in the leading 4% of all stocks in terms of fundamental and technical measures.
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