SRRK Shareholder/Stockholder Letter Transcript:
Annual Report
2025
transition to strengthen our corporate
and operational capabilities, building
a highly experienced commercial
organization with customer-facing teams
in the U.S. and commercial build-out
in Europe. In parallel, we enhanced our
R&D leadership and clinical pipeline with
the advancement of multiple clinical
and preclinical programs to broaden our
impact for people living with rare, severe,
and debilitating neuromuscular diseases.
To Our
Shareholders:
Scholar Rock enters 2026 in a position of
strength for what promises to be a year
with many important milestones, as we
remain focused on obtaining our first
regulatory approvals for apitegromab
in the U.S. and Europe for people living
with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). I am
gratified to have served as Scholar Rock s
Board Chairman over the past eight
years, and it is a privilege now to lead
the organization as Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer as we transition
toward becoming a global commercialstage company.
This past year marked a pivotal chapter
for Scholar Rock. As the world leaders
in myostatin biology, we are closer
than ever to delivering the first and
only muscle-targeted treatment to the
global SMA community. Additionally, we
advanced our industry-leading antimyostatin pipeline and sharpened our
strategic focus on rare neuromuscular
diseases where muscle is a principal
organ affected by the disorder. This focus
positions us to meaningfully improve
the lives of patients worldwide while
providing an opportunity for sustainable
growth for Scholar Rock through this
decade and well into the next.
In the past year, we progressed
toward important U.S. and European
regulatory milestones for apitegromab
for the treatment of children and adults
with SMA, advancing our marketing
applications through the regulatory
process toward an anticipated approval
and commercial launch in 2026. In
preparation for this next phase, we
executed our planned leadership
In 2026, our goal is clear: To bring
apitegromab to children and adults with
SMA as quickly as possible. With the
strength of our Phase 3 SAPPHIRE clinical
data, we believe we are well-positioned
for commercial launches in the U.S. and
Europe in 2026. Our teams are working
with urgency on behalf of patients,
caregivers, and families who have long
awaited the world s first muscle-targeted
treatment to usher in the next phase of
innovation for SMA. In the U.S., following
receipt of a Complete Response Letter,
we were pleased to hold a constructive
and collaborative Type A meeting with
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Since then, we have resubmitted our
Biologics License Application. Global
commercial readiness efforts are well
underway, positioning us well for U.S. and
European launches upon approval, as we
expand toward a 50-country operating
platform to deliver on our ambition to
reach patients with SMA and other rare,
severe neuromuscular diseases globally.
Alongside our anticipated SMA launch
activities, we continue to advance our
innovative anti-myostatin pipeline with
the vision of reaching all those living
with SMA who may benefit. In late 2025,
we initiated the Phase 2 OPAL trial to
evaluate apitegromab in patients with
SMA under two years of age who are
receiving treatment with an approved
therapy for SMA, including a one-time
dose of gene therapy. We have also
been working to advance subcutaneous
apitegromab, with the completion of
a Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers,
which represents potential for additional
optionality and impact for patients.
Notably, we announced plans to
develop apitegromab for the treatment
of patients with facioscapulohumeral
muscular dystrophy (FSHD), a rare,
progressive neuromuscular disease
characterized by muscle atrophy
and functional decline, affecting
approximately 30,000 individuals
across the U.S. and Europe. There are
currently no approved treatments for
FSHD. The Phase 2 FORGE trial, which we
expect will initiate dosing in mid-2026,
marks the beginning of the expansion
of apitegromab into additional rare,
severe, and debilitating neuromuscular
diseases where muscle strength and
motor function are key unmet needs. We
see potential for apitegromab broadly
in neuromuscular diseases, and we are
actively exploring indications beyond
SMA and FSHD.
Beyond apitegromab, we continue
to leverage our deep expertise in
myostatin biology to advance a robust
pipeline of anti-myostatin therapies.
Last year, our team moved SRK-439, a
novel, investigational, subcutaneously
administered myostatin inhibitor, into
clinical development, dosing the first
healthy volunteers in the fourth quarter of
2025. Preclinical data has demonstrated
the potential of SRK-439 to potently
inhibit myostatin and increase muscle
mass, and we look forward to sharing
topline results from the Phase 1 study in
the second half of 2026. Together, these
programs underscore our commitment to
sustained innovation in myostatin biology.
Thank you to our shareholders for your
continued support along this journey
as we work with focus, discipline, and
urgency to deliver on our opportunity
to serve the rare neuromuscular disease
community globally. And most of all,
thank you to the children and adults
living with SMA whose determination,
insights, and trust guide and motivate us
every day.
Sincerely,
David Hallal
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Scholar Rock
4/22/2026 Letter Continued (Full PDF)