Investing.com -- Shares in BridgeBio (NASDAQ:BBIO) surged in early U.S. trading on Monday after the biotech group said a late-stage study of its experimental drug for a rare heart disease showed "highly statistically significant" improvement.
The treatment, known as acoramidis, had an 81% survival rate, topping the 74% seen in those patients using the placebo, BridgeBio said. The frequency of cardiovascular-related hospitalizations was reduced by 50%.
BridgeBio also noted that no safety signals of "potential clinical concern" were identified.
"The impact and marked magnitude of risk reduction was seen across all analytical methods employed," California-based BridgeBio said in a statement.
The company added that it now plans to submit the data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of the year, with additional regulatory filings in other markets to follow in 2024.
Massachusetts-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) is also asking for approval of a similar drug that is being developed to treat transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, which is characterized by a buildup of abnormal deposits of protein that can cause heart failure.
Pfizer's (NYSE:PFE) tafamidis and Ionis Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:IONS) Tegsedi are other drugs that can treat symptoms of the disease.