Esperion up after FDA lifts partial hold on ETC-1002

Esperion Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) rose $6.99 (16%) to $51.78 on Tuesday after FDA removed a partial clinical hold on the company's ETC-1002. The ATP citrate lyase (ACL) inhibitor and AMP-activated protein kinase ( AMPK) activator is in Phase II trials to treat hypercholesterolemia.

FDA placed the partial hold on ETC-1002 in 2009 after it deemed the compound a potential peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonist based on early findings in rodents. The partial hold prevented Esperion from conducting human trials longer than six months until the company completed a two-year carcinogenicity study in rodents. ...