Morphic Therapeutic (NASDAQ:MORF) reported positive topline data from the main cohort of the open-label EMERALD-1 Phase 2a study of MORF-057, an oral small molecule inhibitor of the α4β7 integrin, in adults with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.
In EMERALD-1, patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis receiving MORF-057 experienced a statistically significant reduction in the RHI score and a 25.7% clinical remission rate as measured by the mMCS. In addition, MORF-057 was generally well tolerated in EMERALD-1 with no safety signal observed.
“We are emboldened by these positive results and excited to continue to enroll the ongoing EMERALD-2 Phase 2b study,” Praveen Tipirneni, M.D. and CEO of Morphic, said in a statement.
Bruce Sands, M.D., a member of Morphic’s clinical advisory board, said currently approved inflammatory bowel disease treatments achieve at most two qualities of a meaningful treatment. “We need a new option to treat inflammatory bowel disease patients that combines a high rate of clinical remission with a favorable safety profile in oral formulation.”
