Kezar Life Sciences Shares Rise After Interim Results from the MISSION Phase 2 Trial for Patients with Lupus Nephritis
Nov 16, 2021 By MarketDepth
Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: KZR) jumped more than 35% on Tuesday after the biotechnology company announced interim results from the Phase 2 portion of its MISSION clinical trial evaluating KZR-616, a first-in-class selective immunoproteasome inhibitor, in patients with active, proliferative lupus nephritis (LN).
“The MISSION Phase 2 interim results present a strong signal that KZR-616 is active and could be a meaningful therapy for patients with lupus nephritis, a long term and difficult to treat disease. Reduction in proteinuria, as quickly as possible, is an important therapeutic goal for patients with lupus nephritis, and we observed meaningful reductions at 6 months as well as encouraging data at 3 months. KZR-616 continues to appear to be immunomodulatory rather than immunosuppressive, which we believe could offer advantages over current treatments available. Based on these interim findings, we look forward to reporting top-line data in the second quarter of 2022.”
Noreen R. Henig, M.D., Kezar’s Chief Medical Officer
According to Kezar, the MISSION Phase 2 clinical trial is an open-label study designed to demonstrate the responder rate of KZR-616 in patients with active lupus nephritis. The Company indicates that during the 24 week treatment period, patients received 60 mg of KZR-616 subcutaneously once weekly (first dose of 30 mg) in addition to their background therapy. Patients in the MISSION Phase 2 trial do not receive KZR-616 as part of “induction” therapy, which represents a significant difference in comparison to other recently published trials in lupus nephritis. End of treatment assessments occurred at Week 25.
Interim Results
Samir V. Parikh, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and an investigator in the MISSION study, added, “these interim results are important for patients living with lupus nephritis. One of the devastating consequences of the disease is kidney failure, so new immunomodulatory treatments that have the potential to protect kidney function would fulfill a substantial unmet need and could lead to better long-term outcomes.”
Kezar Life Sciences, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics to treat unmet needs in immune-mediated diseases and cancer in the United States.
