Scholar Rock Announces Issuance of U.S. Patent Broadly Relevant to Inhibitors of Myostatin Activation
April 26 2021 - 3:59PM
Business Wire
Scholar Rock (NASDAQ: SRRK), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical
company focused on the treatment of serious diseases in which
protein growth factors play a fundamental role, today announced
that the United States Patent Office (USPTO) issued U.S. Patent No.
10,981,981 with an expiry of May 2034. This patent broadly covers
methods for making inhibitors of myostatin (GDF8) activation based
on Scholar Rock’s proprietary platform approach of targeting the
precursor forms of growth factors.
“This is another important addition to our patent portfolio
protecting our proprietary approach to developing antibodies that
bind to the pro and latent forms of myostatin, including
apitegromab being developed for the treatment of spinal muscular
atrophy,” said Tony Kingsley, President and CEO of Scholar Rock.
“Recently announced positive results from the TOPAZ phase 2 trial
demonstrate both proof-of-concept for apitegromab in helping
improve motor function for patients with Type 2 and Type 3 SMA as
well as the therapeutic potential of our scientific platform of
targeting the latent forms of growth factors.”
The issued claims are directed to manufacturing methods for
developing antibodies that bind selectively to pro/latent myostatin
thereby inhibiting myostatin signaling. Scholar Rock’s apitegromab
is a selective inhibitor of the activation of latent myostatin and
is an investigational product candidate being developed towards an
aim of improving motor function in patients with spinal muscular
atrophy (SMA). Positive 12-month top-line results from the TOPAZ
Phase 2 clinical trial were recently announced, demonstrating the
transformative potential of apitegromab as a potential first
muscle-directed therapy for SMA.
About Scholar Rock
Scholar Rock is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company
focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines
for the treatment of serious diseases in which signaling by protein
growth factors plays a fundamental role. Scholar Rock is creating a
pipeline of novel product candidates with the potential to
transform the lives of patients suffering from a wide range of
serious diseases, including neuromuscular disorders, cancer,
fibrosis and anemia. Scholar Rock’s approach to targeting the
molecular mechanisms of growth factor activation enabled it to
develop a proprietary platform for the discovery and development of
monoclonal antibodies that locally and selectively target these
signaling proteins at the cellular level. By developing product
candidates that act in the disease microenvironment, the Company
intends to avoid the historical challenges associated with
inhibiting growth factors for therapeutic effect. Scholar Rock
believes its focus on biologically validated growth factors may
facilitate a more efficient development path. For more information,
please visit www.ScholarRock.com or follow Scholar Rock on Twitter
(@ScholarRock) and LinkedIn
(https://www.linkedin.com/company/scholar-rock/).
Scholar Rock® is a registered trademark of Scholar Rock,
Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the
potential of apitegromab, Scholar Rock’s future expectations, plans
and prospects, including without limitation, Scholar Rock’s
expectations regarding its growth, strategy, progress and timing of
its clinical trials for apitegromab, the potential of its
proprietary platform, and its intellectual property protection. The
use of words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expect,”
“plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,”
“future,” “potential,” or “continue,” and other similar expressions
are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. All such
forward-looking statements are based on management's current
expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include
the possibility that data from the TOPAZ final analysis will be
inconsistent with the data observed in the interim analysis,
Scholar Rock’s ability to provide the financial support, resources
and expertise necessary to identify and develop product candidates
on the expected timeline, the data generated from Scholar Rock’s
nonclinical and preclinical studies and clinical trials is
inconsistent with subsequent data, competition from third parties
that are developing products for similar uses, Scholar Rock’s
ability to obtain, maintain and protect its intellectual property,
Scholar Rock’s dependence on third parties for development and
manufacture of product candidates including to supply any clinical
trials, Scholar Rock’s ability to manage expenses and to obtain
additional funding when needed to support its business activities
and establish and maintain strategic business alliances and new
business initiatives, and the impacts of public health pandemics
such as COVID-19 on business operations including its TOPAZ
clinical trial, as well as those risks more fully discussed in the
section entitled "Risk Factors" in Scholar Rock’s Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 as well as
discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important
factors in Scholar Rock’s subsequent filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements represent
Scholar Rock’s views only as of today and should not be relied upon
as representing its views as of any subsequent date. All
information in this press release is as of the date of the release,
and Scholar Rock undertakes no duty to update this information
unless required by law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210426005876/en/
Scholar Rock Contacts: Investor Contact: Catherine
Hu chu@scholarrock.com Media Contact: Ariane Lovell Finn
Partners ariane.lovell@finnpartners.com 917-565-2204
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