NASH drug developers fall after Eli Lilly's obesity drug shows liver scarring benefit
05/06/2024 16:09
** Shares of NASH drug developers Madrigal Pharmaceuticals
MDGL.O fall ~10% to $220.76, Akero Therapeutics AKRO.O down
3.3% at $18.58 and 89Bio ETNB.O down ~2% at $8.19
** Eli Lilly LLY.N reports mid-stage study data for its
obesity drug being tested in patients with a serious fatty liver
disease formerly known as NASH and now called metabolic
dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis
** LLY's tirzepatide showed statistically significant
fibrosis or liver scarring improvement in patients with no
worsening of NASH, the secondary goal of the study, across all
tested dosages
** "We see this as a strong outcome for LLY that
definitively links weight loss to fibrosis benefit, and we
expect shares of competitor, non-fibrosis-focused MASH names to
trade lower," Guggenheim analyst Seamus Fernandez wrote in a
note
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru)
((Mariam.ESunny@thomsonreuters.com;))