** Shares of drug developer Vera Therapeutics VERA.O rise 66.3% to $31.32 premarket
** VERA says its kidney disease drug, atacicept, met main goal in a late-stage study to treat IgA nephropathy
** IgA nephropathy causes a protein called immunoglobulin A to build up in the kidney
** Company says the drug reduced 46% protein in urine, stabilizing kidney function levels compared to placebo as measured on 24-hour kidney function test called urine protein creatinine ratio (UPCR)
** At week 36, atacicept, achieved statistically significant and clinically meaningful 42% reduction in UPCR test - VERA
** Company plans to submit a marketing application to the FDA in Q4 for the drug and expects for potential launch in 2026
** As of last close, VERA was down 55.2% YTD
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole)
((siddhi.mahatole@thomsonreuters.com))