April 2 (Reuters) – Immunovant said on Thursday that its therapy failed to reduce eye bulging when tested in patients with moderate-to-severe thyroid eye disease in two late-stage studies.
Shares of the company were down 14.3% in premarket trading.
The studies were testing batoclimab in the autoimmune disorder that commonly causes proptosis or eye bulging and eye irritation. In severe cases it can also lead to double vision or vision loss.
The company said the studies failed to meet the main goal of an at least 2 millimeter reduction in eye bulging after 24 weeks, following 12 weeks of high-dose and 12 weeks of low-dose batoclimab treatment.
Batoclimab is designed to help the body clear harmful antibodies by blocking a protein that normally keeps them in circulation.
Safety results were consistent with previous findings, Immunovant said.
The company intends to review future plans for the development of batoclimab with its partner HanAll Biopharma and provide an update on the program at a future date.
On Monday, Viridian Therapeutics’ experimental treatment for thyroid eye disease lagged rivals in efficacy in a late-stage study.
(Reporting by Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Shailesh Kuber)
