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May 5 (Reuters) - Viridian Therapeutics said on Tuesday its experimental thyroid eye disease drug met the main goal of a late-stage trial in chronic patients, sending its shares up nearly 35%.
The drug, elegrobart, significantly reduced eye bulging in patients with long-standing thyroid eye disease, or TED, when given as a subcutaneous injection every four or every eight weeks, compared with placebo, the company said.
At 24 weeks, 50% of patients on the four-week dosing regimen and 54% of those on the eight-week regimen saw an improvement in eye bulging, versus 15% of patients receiving placebo.
The study also showed improvements in double vision, a common and debilitating symptom of the disease. Sixty-one percent of patients receiving the four-week regimen saw an improvement in double vision, compared with 38% in the placebo group.
A WIN FOR VIRIDIAN
The data follow late-stage results in active thyroid eye disease released in March that met the main goal, but fell short of investor expectations, triggering a sell-off.
"This is a better-than-expected scenario for chronic TED and we think Viridian can crawl back from some of the negative pressure," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Lisa Walter, adding the drug is highly likely to get approved and compete with Amgen's Tepezza.
Walter sees a $1 billion opportunity for Viridian's TED franchise by 2030 with a conservative patient population.
CEO Steve Mahoney said the drug, if approved, could offer a convenient, at-home auto-injector in as few as three doses, helping expand the market.
Thyroid eye disease is an autoimmune condition causing inflammation, swelling and fat expansion behind the eyes, often leading to bulging, pain, redness and double vision.
Active TED is marked by acute inflammation and pain lasting months to years, while chronic TED is the stable phase in which symptoms such as bulging eyes or double vision persist without active swelling.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shailesh Kuber)
