BUZZ-Keros Therapeutics drops on halting lung disease trial on safety concerns

** Shares of drug developer Keros Therapeutics KROS.O fall 10.26% to $11.20 premarket

** Co says it has voluntarily halted all dosing in a mid-stage trial due to safety concerns

** Adds is terminating the trial early, and patients are expected to be monitored through the end-of-trial visits

** The mid-stage trial was studying its experimental drug cibotercept in combination with background therapy in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare lung condition that causes high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries

** Earlier in Dec., co halted the 3.0 mg/kg and 4.5 mg/kg treatment based on the observation of pericardial effusions, build up of fluids around the heart, at those dose levels

** Co has notified investigators and certain regulatory authorities, including the FDA, about this decision, and is in the process of notifying other relevant regulatory authorities

** Stock fell ~60% last year

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru)

((Sriparna.Roy@thomsonreuters.com;))