Madrigal falls on Phase II hypercholesterolemia readout

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) lost $14.46 (10%) to $131.53 on Thursday after reporting Phase II data for MGL-3196 (VIA-3196) to treat heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) that, despite meeting the primary endpoint, suggest the candidate would be unable to compete with marketed drugs in the indication.

Madrigal said MGL-3196 led to significant placebo-adjusted reductions in LDL-C from baseline to week 12, the primary endpoint, of 18.8% in all patients, 21% in patients who received the optimal dosing regimen of MGL-3196 and 28.5% in a prespecified subgroup of patients who were unable to tolerate high-intensity statin doses (p<0.0001). On a conference call to discuss the data, CMO and EVP of R&D Rebecca Taub said LDL-C increased by 9-10% in the placebo arm...