Disc Medicine Surges 60% on Phase 3 Win for Rare Sunlight Disorder Drug Developed With Roche

Disc Medicine's shares rocketed as much as 60 percent after the company reported positive Phase 3 results for its lead asset developed in collaboration with Roche, targeting erythropoietic protoporphyria, a rare disorder that causes severe pain upon sunlight exposure. The stock had already climbed 32 percent earlier in the session as investors anticipated the readout, with the confirmed trial win driving a second leg higher.

Eli Lilly separately reported that Omvoh (mirikizumab-mrkz) met the primary endpoint of clinical remission in a Phase 3 study in pediatric ulcerative colitis, making it the first IL-23p19 inhibitor to report one-year Phase 3 results in that patient population. Lilly is expected to pursue a label expansion for Omvoh on the strength of the data.

Takeda released results from VERDICT, the first and only ulcerative colitis treat-to-target trial, showing that adults treated with intravenous Entyvio (vedolizumab) to achieve corticosteroid-free disease clearance had a significantly longer time to first UC-related complication compared with those treated to symptomatic remission alone. The hazard ratio was 0.33 (95% CI 0.17 to 0.67; P=0.0014), representing nearly a 70 percent reduction in complication risk.

Veradermics (Nasdaq: MANE) also announced a second Phase 3 win for VDPHL01, its proprietary extended-release oral minoxidil formulation, in a study of more than 500 males with mild-to-moderate pattern hair loss, reporting early, consistent, and robust hair growth. The broader session also saw multiple companies, including AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, BioNTech, and BeOne Medicines, preview data packages ahead of the ESMO Congress running October 23 to 27 in Madrid.