Exhibit 99.1
![LOGO](https://capedge.com/proxy/8-K/0001193125-19-237824/g769077img01.jpg)
Agios Announces Publication of Data for Mitapivat from Core and Extension Phases of the DRIVE PK Study in Patients with Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency in theNew England Journal of Medicine
– Maximum Hemoglobin Increases >1.0 g/dL Observed in 50% of Patients in Core Period, Among Whom the Mean Maximum Hemoglobin Increase was 3.4 g/dL –
– Hemoglobin Responses Maintained in 19 Patients in the Extension Phase of the Study with Median Treatment Duration of 28.9 Months –
– Cumulative Safety Profile (Core Period plus Extension Phase) Continues to Support Long-term Twice Daily Dosing of Mitapivat –
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., September 4, 2019 — Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AGIO), a leader in the field of cellular metabolism to treat cancer and rare genetic diseases, today announced that new data from the core and extension phases of the DRIVE PK Phase 2 study of mitapivat(AG-348) in adults with pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency were published in the September 5, 2019 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Mitapivat is an investigational,first-in-class, oral, small molecule allosteric activator of wild-type and a variety of mutated pyruvatekinase-R (PKR) enzymes that directly targets the underlying metabolic defect in PK deficiency, a rare, potentially debilitating, hemolytic anemia.
“The DRIVE PK study is the first clinical trial in adults with PK deficiency, which is a rare disease characterized by chronic hemolysis and long-term serious complications. Data from the study demonstrated rapid, clinically significant increases in hemoglobin in 50 percent of patients, and for patients in the extension phase, the response was sustained for up to 35 months,” said Rachael Grace, M.D., of the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorder Center and a principal investigator for the study. “There are no approved therapies for PK deficiency, and there are significant risks associated with current disease management strategies. By directly targeting the underlying metabolic defect in PK deficiency, mitapivat has the potential to be the first disease-altering therapy for these patients.”
“Data from the extension phase of the DRIVE PK study showed that patients who respond to long-term treatment with mitapivat had continued evidence of decreased hemolysis as demonstrated by directionally appropriate changes over time in hemoglobin, absolute reticulocyte counts, indirect bilirubin, haptoglobin and lactate dehydrogenase,” said Chris Bowden, M.D., chief medical officer at Agios. “We are currently evaluating the safety and efficacy of mitapivat in adults with PK deficiency in our ongoing Phase 3 ACTIVATE andACTIVATE-T studies, and we look forward to exploring mitapivat in the pediatric population.”
DRIVE PK is an ongoing global, open-label, Phase 2, safety and efficacy study evaluating mitapivat in adults with PK deficiency who do not receive regular transfusions. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either 50 mg or 300 mg of mitapivat twice daily for a24-week core period and eligible patients could continue treatment in an ongoing extension phase. As of the