Cytokinetics puts brave face on reldesemtiv results

US biotech Cytokinetics (Nasdaq: CYTK) has announced that its Phase II FORTITUDE-ALS trial of reldesemtiv in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) failed to meet its primary endpoint.

But in the day-and-a-half since Monday’s announcement, the company’s share price has fared well, increasing by 5% from the level of Friday’s close by mid-morning Tuesday. This was perhaps a result of the data showing some positive signs.

FORTITUDE-ALS did not achieve statistical significance for a pre-specified dose-response relationship in its primary endpoint of change from baseline in slow vital capacity (SVC) after 12 weeks of dosing.