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Biogen acquires neuromuscular assets, reports 2Q earnings

July 24, 2018 5:58 PM UTC

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) said it acquired two early stage neuromuscular assets from AliveGen USA Inc. (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and reported rising U.S. sales of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) therapy Spinraza nusinersen in its 2Q18 earnings Tuesday.

The acquisition gives Biogen BIIB110 (formerly ALG-801), which is in Phase Ia testing in healthy volunteers, plus preclinical stage asset ALG-802. Biogen plans to evaluate the candidates for neuromuscular indications, including SMA and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Both candidates are recombinant proteins that act as activin receptor type 2B (ACVR2B) ligand traps to inhibit myostatin (MSTN; GDF8) pathway signaling...