Ionis' positive volanesorsen results fall flat on safety fears

Akcea Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IONS), has announced that the pivotal Phase III APPROACH study of volanesorsen met its primary endpoint of reducing triglyceride levels in patients with familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS).

Rather than the US biotech’s share price rising after the results were announced on Tuesday, however, it had dropped nearly 6% by lunchtime to $47.01.

The reason for this reaction from investors has been linked to the safety data that was published, with five volanesorsen-treated patients in the trial having their treatment discontinued due to platelet-related adverse events, a finding which will have reminded investors of Ionis’ experience last year with another antisense drug, IONIS-TTR.