Cantor sees Scholar Rock dominating SMA market after Genentech drops out

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Eric Schmidt says Roche’s (RHHBY)Genentech sent a letter today to the spinal muscular atrophy community that included an update on the development of emugrobart, an anti-myostatin antibody. According to the letter, Genentech made the decision not to advance emugrobart. Cantor says emugrobart was trailing Scholar Rock’s (SRRK) apitegromab in development by several years, and “offered little in the way of differentiation.” The firm now expects apitegromab to have “near complete market share” as the lone muscle-building therapy for SMA patients. It continues to view apitegromab’s FDA approval as a likely 2026 event. The firm sees multi-billion dollar potential for the drug and notes Scholar Rock continues to be a top pick. The stock in afternoon trading is up 7% to $42.58.