Cambridge, Mass.-based Acceleron Pharma Inc. said it will discontinue development of its drug for a muscular disorder as it did not achieve statistically significant improvements in the phase 2 trial.
The investigational drug, named ACE-083, was evaluated against placebo for the treatment of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD.
FSHD is a disorder characterized by muscle weakness and wasting which commonly affects muscles around the face, shoulder blades and in the upper arms.
The trial met its main goal as ACE-083 showed a significant increase in mean total muscle volume; however, the increase failed to translate into significant improvements in functional tests. As a result, the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company will not conduct further trials of the drug for treating FSHD.
Meanwhile, Acceleron is expecting results of a phase 2 trial of ACE-083 in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease — a neuromuscular disorder characterized by progressive loss of muscle tissue as well as loss of sensation across various parts of the body — in the first quarter of 2020.
Acceleron Pharma's stock price fell by 6.83% to $41.6 as of 6:55 p.m. ET on Sept. 16.
