Shinhan Securities lowered its target price for Alteogen (196170) to 520,000 won from 540,000 won after one of three antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate (AOC) drug candidates being developed by Novartis failed in a Phase 3 trial. Analyst Eom Min-yong made the change on the 9th, citing uncertainty over the future development strategy for deldesiran, which Shinhan had viewed as a candidate for subcutaneous (SC) development based on intravenous (IV) dosing every eight weeks for 54 weeks. The firm said the number of AOC pipeline products expected to move to SC development has fallen to two from three, but maintained its buy rating because the failure does not change Novartis’ technology-transfer agreement with Alteogen. Alteogen signed the agreement on the 2nd of this month for up to 4.416 trillion won ($3.2 billion), covering SC formulation conversion with its human hyaluronidase ALT-B4. The market expects the deal to broaden ALT-B4 applications into ribonucleic acid (RNA) fields, including AOCs. Analysts said the remaining AOC pipeline’s commercialization timelines remain on track. Delzota, for which a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval application has been filed, remains on course for approval in the first half of 2027 without a change to its SC development plan. Delbrax is being developed with a target of up to $4 billion in sales, keeping the value of SC development for the two AOC compounds in Shinhan’s valuation. Analysts also said the Phase 3 failure would not trigger a return of upfront payments or any reduction or modification of the existing agreement. Shinhan maintained its estimate of SC development options for 10 products, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and bispecific antibodies, with those options expected to shift to other AOCs.