Keros doses first patient in Phase 2 trial of rinvatercept for Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Keros Therapeutics, Inc. said on September 28, 2026 that the first patient was dosed in the Phase 2 clinical trial of rinvatercept in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.¹ The company said initial data from the trial are expected in the first half of 2027.¹

The study, registered as NCT07704099, is an open-label, multi-cohort basket clinical trial in patients with DMD.¹ According to Keros, its primary objective is to assess the safety and tolerability of rinvatercept in late-ambulatory and early non-ambulatory patients with DMD.¹ The company said key secondary objectives include evaluating pharmacokinetics, anti-drug antibodies, body composition and comprehensive functional improvements across skeletal muscle, motor, cardiac and pulmonary measures.¹

Keros described rinvatercept as a ligand trap built from a modified ligand-binding domain taken from activin receptor type IIA and activin receptor type IIB, joined to the Fc portion of a human antibody.¹ The company said the molecule is designed to block myostatin and activin A signaling, aiming to support muscle regeneration and strength, limit fibrosis and inflammation, reduce fat buildup, and support bone health through anabolic pathways, based on its designed activity as a ligand trap that inhibits myostatin and activin A.¹ Keros said it is developing rinvatercept for the treatment of DMD and for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.¹

Keros is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that works on therapeutics for patients whose conditions involve disrupted signaling in the TGF-beta family of proteins.¹ The company said its most advanced program, elritercept, is being developed for cytopenias, including anemia and thrombocytopenia, in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes and myelofibrosis.¹