Third Time’s the Charm as Acceleron Drug Shows Early Promise in PAH

▤ Summary

Acceleron (NASDAQ: XLRN) late Monday reported positive preliminary data from mid-stage tests of sotatercept in pulmonary arterial hypertension. The Acceleron drug met that goal, as well as secondary endpoints, such as walking distance for six minutes, which measures how a patient performs under exertion. Sotatercept, an engineered protein, was initially developed as a treatment for anemia in patients who have beta thalassemia, a rare blood disorder. But luspatercept, the drug that Celgene chose to develop over sotatercept for beta thalassemia patients, won FDA approval in November. In 2018, United Therapeutics paid $141 million to acquire SteadyMed, a company developing a disposable pump and skin patch system that administers treprostinil.

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