Peptide News Digest

Ascendis reACHin Week 52 Infant Data, Roivant PHocus Analyst Upgrades to $46/$55, Moonwalk $70M Adipose RNAi Series B

Ascendis reports Week 52 reACHin infant navepegritide growth data at ESPE, Roivant PHocus draws $55 Piper target, Moonwalk raises $70M for adipose RNAi.

6 stories · Covering clinical-trials, industry

Editor's Note

Wednesday closed the ERS Congress in Barcelona and continued the ESPE congress in Marseille with the two most consequential readouts of the week for peptide-adjacent development. Ascendis released a full press release on the first Week 52 sentinel-cohort data for navepegritide (TransCon CNP) in 7 infants aged 0 to under 2 years with achondroplasia: 9.9 cm/year annualized growth velocity, +0.42 ACH-specific supine length Z-score, +3.15 mm mean increase in sagittal foramen magnum diameter, no decompression surgeries, and no treatment-related adverse events. Analysts moved on Tuesday's Pulmovant PHocus Phase 2 win — Guggenheim raised Roivant to $46 from $42 and Piper Sandler lifted to $55 from $40 on peak-sales estimates of about $3 billion in PH-ILD. On the obesity side, Moonwalk Biosciences closed a $70 million Series B (co-led by Alpha Wave and YK Bioventures with Lilly participation) to advance adipose-targeted RNAi with lead candidate MW101 heading toward first-in-human in late 2027; the pitch is a non-incretin mechanism claiming muscle preservation from preclinical work. Amgen shares meanwhile fell about 10% Tuesday on continued Lp(a)-class fears after last week's Novartis pelacarsen Phase 3 miss, with olpasiran investors reweighting the readthrough. Insmed presented post-hoc Phase 3 ASPEN bronchiectasis data on BRINSUPRI (brensocatib) in patients with prior nontuberculous mycobacterial infection, plus new pulmonary arterial hypertension analyses on treprostinil palmitil inhalation powder, at ERS Wednesday. Neurocrine's Wells Fargo fireside chat updated on the CRENESSITY launch reaching a $750 million quarterly run rate 12 months post-approval.

Ascendis Reports First Week 52 Sentinel-Cohort Data for Navepegritide (TransCon CNP) in Infants With Achondroplasia at ESPE 2026: 9.9 cm/year Growth, +0.42 ACH-Specific Z-Score, +3.15 mm Foramen Magnum, No Decompression Surgeries

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ: ASND) announced Wednesday September 9, 2026 first Week 52 sentinel-cohort data from the Phase 3 reACHin trial of navepegritide (TransCon CNP, a sustained-release C-type natriuretic peptide prodrug branded YUVIWEL in the U.S. for ages ≥2 years) in 7 treatment-naïve, genetically confirmed infants with achondroplasia aged 0 to under 2 years (mean age 11.7 months). At 100 μg/kg/week once-weekly dosing, the sentinel cohort reached 9.9 cm/year annualized growth velocity through Week 52; ACH-specific supine length Z-score improved by +0.42 from baseline; mean sagittal foramen magnum diameter increased by +3.15 mm with all children stable or improved on the Achondroplasia Foramen Magnum Score, and no decompression surgeries during the treatment period. Safety: no injection-site reactions, no deaths, no fractures, no bone-related events, no symptomatic hypotension. No treatment-related adverse events were reported and no trial discontinuations occurred. Genevieve Baujat MD (Necker Hospital) presented the data as podium abstract FC4.6 on Tuesday September 8. Full reACHin double-blind enrollment is complete with a 52-week extension ongoing. YUVIWEL was FDA-approved February 2026 for ages ≥2 years; the EMA decision on achondroplasia is anticipated Q4 2026.

Roivant Analyst Price Targets Rise to $46 (Guggenheim) and $55 (Piper Sandler) After Tuesday's Pulmovant PHocus Phase 2 Win; Peak Sales Estimated at ~$3 Billion in PH-ILD

Sell-side analysts moved fast Wednesday September 9, 2026 following Tuesday's positive Phase 2 PHocus readout from Roivant Sciences (NASDAQ: ROIV) subsidiary Pulmovant. Guggenheim raised its ROIV price target to $46 from $42 while maintaining a Buy rating, and Guggenheim estimated peak sales of approximately $3 billion in pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease. Piper Sandler analyst Yasmeen Rahimi raised her price target to $55 from $40 with an Overweight rating. Roivant shares closed up approximately 17% Tuesday on the ERS Congress presentation of a 56.3% placebo-adjusted reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance at Week 16 (p<0.0001), plus placebo-adjusted improvements of +35.2 meters six-minute walk distance and −357.7 pg/mL NT-proBNP (−53.2% from baseline). The Phase 3 PHrontier study in approximately 375 patients is enrolling. If PHrontier confirms the Phase 2 signal, mosliciguat would land in a PH-ILD market currently anchored by United Therapeutics' Tyvaso (treprostinil) — the only FDA-approved therapy specifically for PH-ILD — with orally-administered Merck Winrevair (sotatercept) as a pulmonary arterial hypertension option positioned differently.

Moonwalk Biosciences Closes Oversubscribed $70 Million Series B With Eli Lilly Participation to Advance Adipose-Targeted RNAi (MW101) Toward Late-2027 First-in-Human for Obesity

Moonwalk Biosciences announced Tuesday September 8, 2026 an oversubscribed $70 million Series B financing to advance first-in-class adipose tissue-targeted RNA interference (RNAi) medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. The round was co-led by Alpha Wave and YK Bioventures with participation from Eli Lilly and Company, Gaorong Ventures, and existing investors ARCH Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, and Future Ventures. Proceeds will move lead candidate MW101 toward first-in-human clinical studies in late 2027 and support the broader adipose-targeted siRNA pipeline. Moonwalk's approach uses siRNA delivery specifically to adipose tissue to modulate non-incretin pathways governing energy homeostasis, adipogenesis, lipolysis, and thermogenesis while minimizing systemic effects. The company claims preclinical models show reductions in body weight and fat mass with lean-muscle preservation — the same value proposition Enveda's ENV-308 and Amgen's MariTide are pitching from different mechanisms. Lilly's investor participation extends the Lilly obesity-adjacent equity portfolio that already includes stakes in Superluminal Medicines (MC4R agonist, $60M Series B September 3), Verve Therapeutics (base editing, acquired 2025), and others.

Amgen Shares Fall 10% Tuesday to $394 on Lp(a)-Class Fears After Novartis Pelacarsen Phase 3 Miss; Olpasiran Readthrough in Focus

Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) shares fell approximately 10% to $394.38 by midday Tuesday September 8, 2026 as investors continued to reprice the entire Lp(a)-lowering cardiovascular hypothesis following Novartis' Friday September 4 announcement that pelacarsen missed the primary MACE endpoint in the Phase 3 Lp(a)HORIZON trial. Amgen's olpasiran (RNAi Lp(a) suppressor) is the most direct readthrough: the Phase 3 OCEAN(a) trial is enrolling patients with elevated Lp(a) and established cardiovascular disease with a similar Lp(a)-lowering-plus-cardiovascular-outcome design and is estimated to read out 2027-2028. Lilly's lepodisiran (RNAi) is running in a broader group including primary-prevention patients, which analyst commentary suggests partly insulates it from the Novartis-specific readthrough. Silence Therapeutics' zerlasiran (RNAi) lowered Lp(a) by up to 85% at 36 weeks in ALPACAR-360; Silence has FDA feedback on a proposed Phase 3 design but is dependent on securing a development partner. The Lp(a) hypothesis question is now whether the drug class lowers hard cardiovascular outcomes, not whether the class lowers Lp(a) levels — that latter question was already answered in the affirmative.

Insmed Presents Phase 3 ASPEN Post-Hoc BRINSUPRI Data in Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis Patients With Prior NTM Infection Plus New TPIP PAH Analysis at ERS Congress Wednesday

Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ: INSM) presented Wednesday September 9, 2026 at the ERS Congress in Barcelona a post-hoc analysis of the Phase 3 ASPEN trial evaluating BRINSUPRI (brensocatib, a first-in-class oral dipeptidyl peptidase 1 (DPP1) inhibitor approved in August 2025 for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) in ages 12+) in the subgroup of ASPEN patients with prior nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection. The analysis is one of five Insmed abstracts at the meeting, alongside a COMPERA 2.0 risk-assessment post-hoc analysis of treprostinil palmitil inhalation powder (TPIP) in pulmonary arterial hypertension, additional ARIKAYCE (amikacin liposome inhalation) data on the psychosocial burden and healthcare resource use of MAC lung disease, and treatment-pattern analyses. Brinsupri launched August 2025 via specialty pharmacy in the U.S. and is under EMA and MHRA review with Japanese filing in H2 2026. TPIP is Insmed's mid-stage prostacyclin analog delivered via dry powder inhaler, targeting PAH as a differentiated option relative to United Therapeutics' Tyvaso (nebulized treprostinil).

Neurocrine Biosciences Updates on CRENESSITY (Crinecerfont) Reaching $750 Million Quarterly Run Rate 12 Months Post-Approval at Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference Wednesday

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ: NBIX) hosted a fireside chat at the Wells Fargo 21st Annual Healthcare Conference in Boston Wednesday September 9, 2026 at 12:45 p.m. ET, disclosing that CRENESSITY (crinecerfont, a first-in-class oral corticotropin-releasing factor type 1 (CRF1) receptor antagonist for classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)) has reached approximately $750 million in quarterly run-rate revenue approximately 12 months after its FDA approval in December 2024 for pediatric patients aged 4 and older and adults with CAH. The company posted its first billion-dollar quarter in Q2 2026 and moved from a single-product company (Ingrezza for tardive dyskinesia) to three commercial products, with underlying Ingrezza volume growth of 17% and 2026 guidance at the $2.85 billion midpoint. CRF is a peptide hormone, and CRENESSITY blocks the CRF1 receptor to reduce excess ACTH secretion and androgen production in CAH — the mechanism replaces high-dose glucocorticoid therapy for many patients. Neurocrine reported zero debt and approximately $500 million in cash.