New York, May 18, 2026, 06:05 EDT
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals shares dropped 11.8% in premarket trading Monday after its late-stage melanoma drug combo failed to meet its main goal. The move drew notice as Nasdaq futures pointed lower. Reuters singled out the decline before the bell, as premarket trading often moves on thin volume.
Regeneron shares dropped after a trial that investors had counted on to showcase the cancer pipeline’s growth potential came up short. Investors are already watching for signs of strain on Eylea and continue to eye Dupixent, Regeneron’s partnership with Sanofi, for signs of future growth.
Regeneron said late Friday its LAG-3 inhibitor fianlimab didn’t hit statistical significance on progression-free survival when used with its PD-1 drug Libtayo (cemiplimab). PFS, or progression-free survival, is a measure of how long patients’ disease does not get worse. For a drug to prove its effect isn’t due to chance, it needs statistically significant results.
Regeneron’s high-dose combo posted a median PFS of 11.5 months versus 6.4 months for Merck’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab), making for a 5.1-month gap. But the p-value was 0.0627, which missed the investor standard. Shares slipped on that result.
Regeneron said it saw no new safety issues. The company flagged an ongoing Phase 3 head-to-head trial of the high-dose fianlimab combination versus Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdualag. That trial is still running, giving the program another shot.
Regeneron got cut to neutral from buy at Citi, which also slashed its price target to $700 from $900, citing poor Phase 3 data. Analyst Geoffrey Meacham made the call. BMO analyst Evan David Seigerman lowered his price target by nearly 20%. “This was to be the defining catalyst of 1H26, with share sentiment inextricably tied to this release,” Seigerman wrote. Investing.com
Regeneron closed Friday at $698.25, after falling from $712.87 on Thursday and $719.88 Wednesday, LSEG data showed. If shares keep sliding in the session as indicated by premarket moves, the drop would wipe out a bigger chunk than last week’s steady fall.
Regeneron gave its update less than three weeks after posting Q1 revenue of $3.61 billion, up 19% from a year ago. U.S. sales of Eylea HD rose 52% to $468 million, but combined U.S. sales of Eylea and Eylea HD fell 10% to $941 million. Pipeline developments are in focus for investors.
Regeneron’s numbers beat expectations on Dupixent strength, according to Reuters, but shares fell nearly 6% after earnings. Investors worried about lower Eylea sales. The drug struggled as the pre-filled syringe approval took longer, while competition from lower-cost drugs and Roche’s Vabysmo also hurt.
Competitive setup remains simple. Keytruda stays the top drug in this melanoma segment, while Opdualag is coming up next. Regeneron’s first-line advanced melanoma push with fianlimab could depend on how it stacks against Opdualag.
Investors worry the next data release may not support the story. Another miss from the Opdualag trial or weak full results at a coming conference—no clear patient group or survival gain—could mean the LAG-3 program faces pressure. Eyes could shift back to Eylea’s losses and the pace of new launches.
Regeneron has cash to put toward buybacks. The company repurchased $803 million in shares in the first quarter and had $688 million left for buybacks as of March 31. In April, the board okayed a new $3 billion repurchase plan. That could help steady the shares. Still, it won’t make up for a failed late-stage catalyst.
