Catabasis Pharma Surges 17% On Positive Early-stage Clinical Trial Results For DMD Drug

Catabasis Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares surged 17.1% in pre-market trade Thursday after the company released positive early-stage clinical trial results for its Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug. The drug, edasalonexent, works to inhibit the NF-kB pathway, thought to play a key role in the rare disease's characteristic muscular degeneration. Unlike the first drug approved for DMD, which is made by Sarepta and intended for patients with a specific gene mutation, edasalonexent could potentially treat all patients with the disease. Catabasis also has a partnership with Sarepta to study a combination treatment, which was announced last fall. Catabasis shares have dropped 12.6% over the last three months, compared with a 6.0% rise in the S&P 500 .