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Scholar Rock (NASDAQ:SRRK) announced Wednesday that its lead candidate, apitegromab, in combination with Eli Lilly’s (NYSE:LLY) blockbuster obesity drug, tirzepatide, generated a higher-quality weight loss in a mid-stage trial. Scholar Rock (NASDAQ:SRRK) shares added ~14% in the premarket in reaction.
The EMBRAZE Phase 2 trial enrolled obese or overweight patients to assess how apitegromab, when administered with tirzepatide for weight loss, can preserve lean body mass, an issue linked to GLP-1 therapies, including tirzepatide and Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) semaglutide.
Citing 24-week data from the study, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Scholar Rock (NASDAQ:SRRK) said that apitegromab with tirzepatide preserved 54.9% of lean mass compared to tirzepatide alone, while patients on tirzepatide experienced 30% of total weight loss due to lean mass loss.
“We are pleased that the EMBRAZE trial accomplished its objective by achieving its primary endpoint,” Scholar Rock’s (SRRK) President of R&D Akshay Vaishnaw added.
The experimental treatment combo was well tolerated, and there were no serious adverse events or discontinuations linked to apitegromab, the company said.
With the EMBRAZE trial’s follow-up period underway, the company plans to disclose additional data from the study at a future medical event.
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