89bio Inc: Falls as rival NASH drug fails study

NGM Biopharmaceuticals

24/05/2021 16:14

** Shares of drug developer 89bio  ETNB.O  down ~9% at
$20.65 
    ** Brokerage Cantor Fitzgerald says ETNB is trading down in
reaction to the trial data from competitor NGM Bio  NGM.O ,
which said its mid-stage trial using aldafermin in treating a
liver disease called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) did
not meet the main goal  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2NB2ZK
    ** ETNB is evaluating its experimental drug, BIO89-100, for
the treatment of NASH patients  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nGNX5DDmWV
    ** NGM's data are an important reminder that the biology in
NASH is complex and still poorly understood and it is fair for
investors to conclude that mid-stage NASH programs like ETNB's
remain risky, brokerage says
    ** Brokerage adds that investors should have more confidence
in ETNB, despite the latest NGM data, given the class of drugs
that BIO89-100 belongs to has already been de-risked by prior
data from rival Akero Therapeutics  AKRO.O   urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2E8326
    ** Up to Friday's close, ETNB down ~7% YTD

 (Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru)
 ((manojna.kalyani@thomsonreuters.com; within the U.S. +1 646
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