Monday, October 20, 2008

Acceleron moves muscle enhancer into Phase 1 study

By Mass High Tech Staff

Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical firm Acceleron Pharma Inc. has begun Phase 1 clinical trials of the company’s ACE-031 drug intended to treat muscle mass loss associated with certain diseases, company officials announced.

The study will be conducted in Canada and will consist of a safety and pharmacokinetics evaluation of the compound.

Loss of muscle mass connects to cause of death in people with muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Acceleron officials said.

News of the muscle compound in Phase 1 trials follows on the heels of Acceleron’s announcement of its Phase 2 trial of ACE-011, its bone loss treatment compound. The clinical trial is for patients with multiple myeloma. The drug is being developed to address the bone loss associated with a number of cancer types. Both Acceleron Pharma and biotech Celgene Corp. (Nasdaq: CELG) are developing ACE-011 through a licensing agreement. New Jersey-based Celgene will pay Acceleron a $5 million milestone payment as per the collaboration.

Founded in 2003, Acceleron employs 90 workers and has raised a total of $86 million in three rounds of venture capital financing. In addition to its treatments for bone and muscle loss, the biotech is developing proteins intended to control the growth of blood vessels and block the accumulation of fat.