Agios Pharma’s stock soars 19.6% on news of positive results in trial of treatment for rare blood disorder

Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s stock
AGIO,
+2.51%
soared 19.6% early Wednesday, after the biotech announced positive results from a Phase 3 trial of a treatment for a rare blood disorder. The trial dubbed Energize sought to evaluate the company’s mitapivat therapy and met its primary endpoint of hemoglobin response in patients with non-transfusion-dependent (NTD) alpha- or beta-thalassemia. The trial also met secondary endpoints of change from baseline in FACIT-Fatigue Score and hemoglobin concentration. The results support the potential of mitapivat to be the first oral therapy for all NTD thalassemia patients, including those with alpha- or beta-thalassemia, said Dr Ali Taher, professor of medicine, hematology & oncology and director — Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute, American University of Beirut Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon, in a statement. The company is planning to seek regulatory approval for the therapy by the end of 2024. The stock has fallen 17% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.57%
has gained 24%.