Writing on the wall' suggests progress in ALS may be imminent, says Cytokinetics CEO

San Franciscan firm Cytokinetics (Nasdaq: CYTK) is pursuing an unusual angle to therapeutic discovery, starting from an understanding of the biology of muscles in order to explore treatment options in different disease areas.

This approach has seen the company develop a diverse pipeline of candidates, in heart failure, in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), where lead candidate tirasemtiv is due to read out at Phase III later this year.

Launched 20 years ago, chief executive Robert Blum was with the firm from the start, leading in R&D and ultimately taking the tiller a few years after they went public in 2004.