Ipsen has not given up on rare disease drug palovarotene

Ipsen (Euronext: IPN) shares began trading around 2% higher on Thursday morning, after the French biotech announced today it would restart the global Phase III MOVE trial, in people over the age of 14.

The study is investigating palovarotene, a RARγ selective agonist, in people with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), an ultra-rare, severely disabling disorder.

The firm’s stock price slumped in late December after the trial was paused, based on a futility analysis suggesting it was unlikely to meet its primary endpoint.