The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Sept. 9, edition that Novartis announced on Tuesday that its experimental drug for a muscle-wasting disorder has failed a late-stage study, marking the second major trial setback in just days. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that this news led to a nearly 11-per-cent drop in the Swiss drugmaker's shares, resulting in its worst trading day on record. The setback for del-desiran, which Novartis acquired through its recent $12-billion (U.S.) acquisition of Avidity, increases pressure on chief executive officer Vas Narasimhan and his M&A strategy to build up the firm's pipeline. The drug was being tested in myotonic dystrophy, a muscle-wasting disease with no approved treatments. Novartis said the drug did not meet its main goal of improving video hand opening time (vHOT), a measure of how quickly patients can open their hand after making a fist that gauges muscle stiffness. Verso Investment analyst James Eugene said the drug "should have been a 'must win' for the company," adding the failure would put more pressure on deal making and other drugs in development. The trial failure means Novartis has now missed on two of three key tests for its pipeline this year.