Shares of MBX Biosciences catapulted to a nine-month high Monday after the company posted promising results for its experimental thyroid disease treatment.
The biotech company is testing a weekly shot called canvuparatide in patients with chronic hypoparathyroidism, a condition in which the body doesn't produce enough parathyroid hormone. Parathyroid hormone is necessary for regulating the levels of calcium in the body.
In the study, 63% of canvuparatide recipients made it 12 weeks without needing parathyroid hormone, or PRN, rescue therapy. This means their calcium levels remained at normal levels. In the open-label extension study — in which all patients knowingly receive the drug — 79% of patients were responders at six months.
Based on the results, MBX Biosciences is now planning a Phase 3 study for 2026.
On today's stock market, MBX stock soared 100% to 20. Earlier, shares ramped as much as 165%, touching a nine-month high.
Huge Unmet Need
Hypoparathyroidism often requires complex treatment regimens and unpredictable swings in calcium levels, Dr. Mishaela Rubin said in a statement. Rubin, an investigator in the MBX study called Avail, is a professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
"The results from the Avail trial are encouraging," she said. "A once-weekly therapy could simplify administration and help address important unmet medical needs of patients with hypoparathyroidism."
Notably, patients with elevated levels of calcium in their urine before treatment normalized after 12 weeks of taking canvuparatide. On average, urine calcium was reduced by 48% with canvuparatide treatment, vs. a 33% reduction in the placebo group.
Most side effects tied to treatment were mild or moderate and none of the patients dropped out of the study due to the drug. Almost one in five patients, 19%, reported injection site pain, compared with 13% of placebo recipients.
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