Chiasma Announces Support for Rare Disease Day 2019


WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chiasma, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHMA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of patients with rare and serious chronic diseases today announced its support for the patient and research communities in recognition of Rare Disease Day 2019.

“The theme of Rare Disease Day 2019, ‘Bridging health and social care,’ strikes at the heart of what we are working towards here at Chiasma to improve the lives of people afflicted with acromegaly,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, President and Chief Executive Officer of Chiasma. “Monthly somatostatin analog injections, the current standard of care for the maintenance treatment of acromegaly, are painful, can cause injection site reactions and also carry significant treatment burdens to some patients who report ongoing symptoms that interfere with daily life and leisure activities.”

“Our octreotide capsules product candidate, which we have conditionally trade-named Mycapssa®, has the potential to become the first oral somatostatin analog in an injectable-only market.  If approved, we believe it has the potential to reduce the treatment burdens associated with current acromegaly care in some patients. We are grateful to the policy makers, researchers, companies and healthcare professionals who continue to call attention to unmet medical needs in these rare and often debilitating diseases, and we look forward to advancing Mycapssa® through our two Phase 3 clinical trials and toward planned commercialization as we pursue our mission of enhancing the lives of people suffering from acromegaly.”    

Rare Disease Day takes place on the last day of February each year. The main objective is to raise awareness among the general public and decision-makers about rare diseases and their impact on patients' lives. For more information about Rare Disease Day, please visit www.rarediseaseday.org.

About Chiasma

Chiasma is focused on improving the lives of patients who face challenges associated with their existing treatments for rare and serious chronic diseases. Employing its Transient Permeability Enhancer (TPE®) technology platform, Chiasma seeks to develop oral medications that are currently available only as injections.  In October 2018, the Company completed enrollment in CHIASMA OPTIMAL, its third Phase 3 clinical trial for its octreotide capsules product candidate, conditionally trade-named Mycapssa®, for the maintenance therapy of adult patients with acromegaly in whom prior treatment with somatostatin analogs has been shown to be effective and tolerated. Prior to trial initiation, the Company reached agreement with the FDA on the design of the trial through a special protocol assessment. Chiasma is headquartered in Waltham, MA with a wholly-owned subsidiary in Israel. Mycapssa, TPE and CHIASMA are registered trademarks of Chiasma. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.chiasma.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s development and potential commercialization of octreotide capsules, conditionally named Mycapssa, for the treatment of acromegaly. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management’s current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause our actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Chiasma’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, and in subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Chiasma undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.

Contact:
Ashley R. Robinson
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
617-535-7742
arr@lifesciadvisors.com