Zafgen shares leap on positive trial of beloranib

Shares of US biotech firm Zafgen (Nasdaq: ZFGN) were up 5.5% at $7.85 by mid morning, having risen as much as 20% pre-market, after the company announced positive mid-stage results with its obesity drug candidate beloranib.

Zafgen’s Phase IIb ZAF-203 clinical trial evaluating beloranib, a MetAP2 inhibitor, in the treatment of severe obesity complicated by type 2 diabetes, achieved its primary efficacy endpoint, as treatment with the 1.8mg and the 1.2mg doses of beloranib resulted in 12.7% (p<0.0001) and 13.5% (p<0.0001) reductions in body weight, respectively, compared with a reduction of 3.1% for placebo.

Patients enrolled in both the 1.8mg and 1.2mg treatment arms also met a key secondary endpoint, with patients in each dose arm achieving on average an absolute reduction in HbA1c of 2.0% compared to a reduction of 0.6% for placebo.