Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS Announces Design with Keros Therapeutics for Upcoming Healey ALS MyMatch Trial

The Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General Brigham has contracted with Keros Therapeutics, Inc. (Keros) to design a new Healey ALS MyMatch trial evaluating rinvatercept (KER-065).

The Healey ALS MyMatch program is reshaping the future of ALS clinical trials by harnessing the power of biomarker-driven personalized trial approaches. By integrating comprehensive genetic and biofluid biomarkers, the program matches subgroups of ALS individuals to various experimental therapies based on their disease markers. ALS MyMatch is an ongoing series of early-phase clinical trials (Phase 1b/2a), aimed at deepening the understanding of biological effects of experimental products, and identifying the optimal population for future phases 2/3 clinical trials.

Expert ALS scientists and members of the ALS MyMatch Therapy Evaluation Committee selected Keros to work with the Healey & AMG Center on the design of a new trial in the program.

Rinvatercept is an investigational modified activin receptor II ligand trap, designed to bind and inhibit TGF-β ligands, including activin A and myostatin, which are negative regulators of muscle and bone mass and strength, to improve skeletal muscle regeneration, increase muscle size and strength, and improve bone health. Keros’ preclinical data suggest that rinvatercept may strengthen intact muscle fibers, potentially enabling them to compensate for muscles weakened by motor neuron loss in ALS. We will test rinvatercept in ALS clinical trials to learn if this approach may help preserve overall muscle function and quality of life.

“We look forward to working with Keros on designing and executing this trial,” says Suma Babu, MBBS, MPH, Principal Investigator of ALS MyMatch and Co-Director of the Neurological Clinical Research Institute (NCRI) at Mass General Brigham. “Combining an experimental therapy which has the potential for muscle regeneration with standard ALS treatments and matching specific ALS subgroups to this trial offers an innovative approach to assess potential effects on biomarkers and muscle function in early phase clinical trials.”

“We are grateful for contracting with Keros to design this ALS MyMatch trial,” says Merit Cudkowicz, MD, MSc, Director of the Healey & AMG Center and Executive Director of the Mass General Brigham Neuroscience Institute. “With the support of people living with ALS and their families, donors, study staff, and collaborators, we are able to initiate these early phase trials to discover effective treatments for ALS. We are grateful for their partnership.”

ALS MyMatch is a multi-site collaborative initiative that currently brings together four trial-ready, high enrolling ALS research centers and is a Network of Excellence for ALS (NEALS) affiliated program. Research centers include Mass General in Boston; University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn.; The Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, Ill.; and Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Additional trial-ready, experienced NEALS member sites will be added to ALS MyMatch for 2026-27. ALS MyMatch has partnered with the Acceleration Centers of Enrollment (ACE) program, a community-driven philanthropic partnership program focused on expediting start up and recruitment at study centers. Organizations can apply on the ALS MyMatch website.

For more information about ALS MyMatch, please visit: massgeneral.org/neurology/als/research/healey-mymatch

About the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General Brigham

At the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General Brigham, we are committed to bringing together a global network of scientists, physicians, nurses, foundations, federal agencies, and people living with ALS, their loved ones, and caregivers to accelerate the pace of ALS therapy discovery and development.

Launched in November 2018, the Healey & AMG Center, under the leadership of Merit Cudkowicz, MD and a Science Advisory Council of international experts, is reimagining how to develop and test the most promising therapies to treat the disease, identify cures and ultimately prevent it.

With many clinical trials and lab-based research studies in progress right now, we are ushering in a new phase of ALS treatment and care. Together, we will find the cures.

About the Neurological Clinical Research Institute

The Neurological Clinical Research Institute (NCRI) at Mass General Brigham is an academic research organization composed of innovative researchers experienced and passionate about designing, developing, facilitating, and conducting multicenter clinical trials in neurological diseases. Our mission is to accelerate translational research in neurological disorders by initiating clinical development of novel therapies and leading trials of these compounds. We strive to be at the cutting edge of innovative trial design to accelerate therapy development by creating new trial methodology, discovering novel biomarkers and refining outcome measures.