MBX Biosciences Inc. posted positive top-line phase II study data in treating chronic hypoparathyroidism, positioning itself to take on a U.S. FDA-approved therapy for the rare endocrine disease. MBX’s Avail study of canvuparatide hit its primary endpoint in treating adults, demonstrating statistical significance at week 12 and positive six-month results from the open-label extension study. MBX said it is poised to begin a phase III study of once-weekly canvuparatide next year.
Septerna Inc.’s stock plunged as much as 68% throughout the day Feb. 18 on news that the company was stopping a phase I trial of SEP-786 in healthy volunteers following two severe events of elevated unconjugated bilirubin in the highest dose cohort of the multiple ascending-dose portion of the study.
The approval of Ascendis Pharma A/S’ hormone replacement therapy Yorvipath (palopegteriparatide) hypoparathyroidism – the first and only treatment for adults with the rare endocrine disease – did little to sate the market’s appetite for new drugs in the indication, where a number of players are busy in various stages of development.
Predictably, weekly vs. daily subcutaneous injections made a big difference in the achondroplasia space, where shares of Copenhagen, Denmark-based Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) closed Sept. 16 at $139.57, up $20.35, or 17%, on favorable, pivotal top-line data with Transcon CNP (navepegritide), as competitor Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc.’s stock (NASDAQ:BMRN) ended the day at $69.86, down $15.04, or 17.7%.
Visen Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.’s palopegteriparatide met both primary and secondary endpoints in the phase III Pathway trial conducted in China in adults with chronic hypoparathyroidism, according to top-line data. In the 26-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Pathway trial, 77.6% of patients treated with palopegteriparatide achieved the primary multicomponent endpoint compared to 0% for placebo.
After many months of jockeying, the U.S. FDA has approved Ascendis Pharma A/S’ hormone replacement therapy Yorvipath (palopegteriparatide) for treating hypoparathyroidism. Ascendis said this is the first and only treatment for adults with the rare endocrine disease.
It’s not often that getting an NDA rejected by the U.S. FDA is cause for a company’s stock to rise. But in the case of Ascendis Pharma A/S, the agency’s anticipated complete response letter (CRL) for Transcon PTH (palopegteriparatide) offered some much-needed clarity and a potentially optimistic time frame for an NDA resubmission seeking approval of the once-daily hormone replacement therapy for hypoparathyroidism, news that sent the company’s shares (NASDAQ:ASND) up 24%, or $16.78, to close May 1 at $86.74.
A frustrating lack of detail left analysts with little to do but speculate on the odds for a 2023 U.S. FDA approval of Ascendis Pharma A/S’s Transcon PTH (palopegteriparatide), a parathyroid hormone prodrug for hypoparathyroidism, after the company disclosed a letter from the agency citing unspecified deficiencies that preclude further discussions about labeling and postmarketing requirements.
Positive results from Bridgebio Pharma Inc.’s phase II study of infigratinib in children with achondroplasia, a genetic disease that inhibits bone length and leads to short stature, prompted the company stock to surge. Participants receiving the highest dosage, which was the fifth cohort getting 0.25 mg/kg daily, saw a 3.03-centimeter increase, about 1.19 inch, in their height annually, which produced a “p” value of 0.0022.
In top-line data from the Pathway phase III trial with Transcon PTH in hypoparathyroidism, Ascendis Pharma A/S provided “what many have been waiting for: a way of therapy to not only boost serum calcium into the normal range, but to make sure that the kidney issues [are] also handled,” said Aimee Shu, vice president of clinical development in endocrinology and co-director of the study, during a conference call with investors.
