Morphic Therapeutic reported positive topline data from the main cohort of the open-label EMERALD-1 Phase 2a study of MORF-057, an oral small molecule inhibitor of the a4b7 integrin, in adults with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC). In EMERALD-1, patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis receiving MORF-057 experienced a statistically significant reduction in the RHI score and a 25.7% clinical remission rate as measured by the mMCS. In addition, MORF-057 was generally well tolerated in EMERALD-1 with no safety signal observed.

EMERALD-2 will also measure several secondary and exploratory endpoints based on the mMCS as well as histologic, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic measures, and safety parameters. Patients in the EMERALD-2 study will be randomized to receive either 200 mg BID MORF-057, 100 mg BID MORF-05, a QD (once daily) dose of MORF-057, or a placebo dose. Following the 12-week induction phase, all patients will receive MORF-057 for 40 weeks of maintenance dosing.