BioCentury
ARTICLE | Product Development

Akero reports positive Phase IIa data for NASH; pandemic delays expansion cohort

April 1, 2020 12:35 AM UTC

Akero gained $4.02 (23%) to $21.20 Tuesday, adding around $115 million in market cap, after reporting that its lead candidate AKR-001 met primary and secondary endpoints in the Phase IIa BALANCED study to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. However, the company expects to face disruptions in follow-up data collection due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and will also delay a planned expansion cohort in the study.

Among 80 patients evaluated at week 12, the three tested doses of AKR-001 led to greater reductions in MRI-measured liver fat, the primary endpoint, compared with placebo (12-14% vs. 0%; p=<0.001). All doses also led to relative reductions in liver fat and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. AKR-001 is a long-acting FGF21 analog that agonizes FGFR1, FGFR2 and FGFR3...