Avalo’s phase 2 skin disease win fuels pursuit of AbbVie despite placebo headwind

Summary: Avalo Therapeutics tested a new medicine called abdakibart for a painful skin condition called hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). The drug works by calming down inflammation to reduce painful skin bumps and abscesses. In their recent test, the medicine helped about 42% of patients see a major improvement.

However, there was a catch. The "placebo effect"—where people feel better even when taking a fake pill—was surprisingly high at 25.6%. Because of this, the drug's actual advantage over the fake pill was only 16.9%, which missed the company's "home run" goal of 20%.

Even though the data wasn't perfect, the stock market loved the news! Avalo's stock price shot up by 40% before the market even opened. Now, the company is using this excitement to raise $375 million so they can move forward with a final, massive Phase 3 study.

For more details, see rssapp-fiercebiotech-com at fiercebiotech.com/biotech/avalos-phase-2-win-fuels-pursuit-abbvie-despite-placebo-headwind (opens in new tab)