BUZZ-Acelyrin tumbles on concerns over new dosing regimen in eye drug trial

** Shares of drug developer Acelyrin SLRN.O tumble ~42% to $2.03

** On Monday, SLRN said it was moving to a new dosing regimen with its thyroid eye disease drug, lonigutamab, after it showed comparable efficacy in a mid-stage trial

** Co said in mid-stage trial it used a 50 mg initial dose followed by 25 mg weekly, while in a late-stage trial it plans to use a 100 mg initial dose followed by 50 mg every two weeks

** H.C. Wainwright analyst Emily Bodnar told Reuters co has not evaluated the late-stage trial dosing regimen in TED patients, which creates risk as the safety and efficacy have not been established with this regimen for those patients

** During the trial co's drug demonstrated efficacy comparable to the current IV-administered standard of care for treating thyroid eye disease (TED)

** TED is a rare condition where the tissues behind the eye get inflamed causing the eyes to bulge and swell, leading to vision problems

** Co said it plans to initiate late-stage trial in Q1 2025

** SLRN declined ~58% in 2024

(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru)

((Kamal.Choudhury@thomsonreuters.com;))