Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (WVE), an RNA medicines-focused clinical-stage biotechnology firm, is set to announce interim data from its ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating WVE-007, an investigational drug for the treatment of obesity, dubbed INLIGHT, on December 8, 2025.
WVE-007(INHBE) is an investigational GalNAc-siRNA, a gene therapy approach that combines N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc), a targeting molecule, with small interfering RNA (siRNA), a gene-silencing agent. Lowering Activin E, a liver-secreted protein involved in regulating energy balance and metabolism, has produced weight loss in preclinical animal studies with WVE-007; the firm is currently studying the drug to safely reduce Activin E in humans through INLIGHT.
INLIGHT is an ongoing, first-in-human clinical trial evaluating WVE-007 in adults living with overweight or obesity and assessing safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics in Activin E, body weight and composition, and biomarkers of metabolic health. INLIGHT is currently ongoing at multiple trial sites, including in the US.
WVE-007 is designed to reduce fat while preserving lean mass by silencing INHBE mRNA, an obesity target with strong evidence from human genetics. People with naturally low levels of INHBE have lower levels of unhealthy visceral fat, lower fasting glucose and triglycerides, and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. INHBE mRNA silencing aims to reduce Activin E levels.
The INLIGHT trial had a 3:1 ratio of participants receiving the drug vs. placebo, across three cohorts. Each cohort received a different dose (75 mg, 240 mg, 400 mg) of WVE-007.
In October 2025, Wave shared Activin E target engagement data from INLIGHT, in which Activin E reductions from baseline were observed at Day 29 in the first three cohorts, with 85% in Cohort 3, 75% in Cohort 2, and 56% in Cohort 1, exceeding reductions that led to weight loss in preclinical models.
The drug lowered Activin E in humans strongly than was needed to trigger weight loss in animals.
The three-month follow-up data from Cohort 2 (240 mg) and from Cohort 1 (75 mg) are due this quarter.
The company expects to report six-month follow-up data from Cohort 2 and three-month follow-up data from Cohort 3 (400 mg) in the first quarter of 2026. In the second quarter of 2026, Wave expects to deliver six-month follow-up data from Cohort 3 and three-month follow-up data from Cohort 4 (600 mg) of WVE-007.
On Friday, WVE shares closed trading at $7.49, a low of 1.71%. In the overnight trade, the shares are trading at 9.75% up, $8.22.
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