Pliant Therapeutics up as lead drug meets main goal in liver disease trial

Pliant Therapeutics

26/09/2023 17:24

** Shares of drug developer Pliant Therapeutics Inc  PLRX.O 
rise 11.4% to $16.25
    ** Co's lead investigational drug bexotegrast met main study
goal of a mid-stage trial to treat a chronic liver disease
called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) 
    ** PSC occurs when bile ducts inside the liver become
inflamed and could become blocked, causing liver damage
    ** The trial tested bexotegrast at once-daily doses of 40
mg, 80 mg, 160 mg against placebo for 12 weeks in 85 patients
with PSC
    ** The trial met its primary study goal of safety and
tolerability; also met secondary study goals showing the drug
was tolerated and its plasma concentrations increased with dose
    ** Bexotegrast reduced levels of a specific biomarker and
scores in a blood-test that indicate disease progression with
statistical significance at the 160 mg dose 
    ** PLRX expects twelve-week interim data from the high-dose
320 mg cohort in Q1 of 24 
    ** Co is also testing the drug in idiopathic pulmonary
fibrosis, a serious lung disease
    ** Including session's gain, stock down 15.93% YTD 

 (Reporting by Pratik Jain in Bengaluru)
 ((Pratik.Jain@thomsonreuters.com;))