Catabasis Skyrockets on Sarepta Partnership

Health and Healthcare

Published: September 29, 2016 12:40 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 2:59 am

Catabasis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CATB) shares skyrocketed on Thursday following an announcement that it would be partnering with Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRPT) for a joint research collaboration for a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Ultimately, the two companies will contribute their respective expertise to study an exon skipping treatment developed by Sarepta, together with an oral NF-kB inhibition treatment developed by Catabasis in a mouse model of DMD.

NF-kB inhibition and exon-skipping represent two novel investigational treatment strategies in DMD, each with the potential for disease-modifying effects when used as monotherapy. The objective of the joint research is to study the safety and efficacy of combining these two treatment strategies using a mouse model of DMD, including evaluating the potential for additional or synergistic benefits.

Jill C. Milne, Ph.D., CEO of Catabasis, commented:

We are excited to work with Sarepta on this joint research collaboration, which to our knowledge is the first time two companies are testing a combination of investigational therapies to treat Duchenne. Although we believe edasalonexent (CAT-1004) has the potential to be a disease-modifying monotherapy, we think there is benefit to exploring innovative ways to make the most meaningful difference in this devastating disease. In addition to our continued development of edasalonexent, we are pleased to take the first step via this collaboration to determine if edasalonexent may be complementary to an exon-skipping treatment strategy in the treatment of DMD using a preclinical model.

Shares of Catabasis were trading up 65% at $7.41 on Thursday, with a consensus analyst price target of $19.50 and a 52-week trading range of $3.31 to $10.83.

Sarepta shares were down 2% to $60.98. The consensus price target is $70.79, and the 52-week range is $8.00 to $63.73.

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