Dec 3 (Reuters) - Roivant will discontinue the

development of its drug for a rare lung disease after it failed

to show treatment benefits in patients in a mid-stage trial.

The company's unit, Kinevant Sciences, said on Tuesday its

once-monthly injectable drug, namilumab, failed to meet the main

and secondary goals in the study evaluating it in 107 patients

with chronic active pulmonary sarcoidosis for about 6 months.

The disease causes lumps of inflammatory cells to form in

the lungs and other organs, leading to tissue damage and organ

dysfunction.

Current treatments for the disease are corticosteroids and

other immunosuppressants that only suppress the symptoms, which

include shortness of breath, chest pain and persistent dry

cough.

"Unfortunately science is sometimes humbling, and we are

proud to have made the attempt," Roivant CEO Matt Gline said in

a statement.

Shares of Roivant fell 2.3% in premarket trading.

Sarcoidosis affects 150,000 to 200,000 people in the United

States per year, according to the American Lung Association.

Drug developer aTyr Pharma's ( ATYR ) efzofitimod is also

being tested for the treatment of pulmonary sarcoidosis and is

in late-stage development.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by

Shinjini Ganguli)