Madrigal drug meets main goals in much-awaited NASH trial

Madrigal Pharma said yesterday its experimental drug for fatty liver disease met both of the main goals in a highly anticipated late-stage study, sending its shares soaring over 200 per cent.

The positive data sets the stage for the drug, resmetirom, to become the first treatment for NASH, or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, a disease that affects about five per cent of adults in the United States (US), but has no approved treatments.

The data comes as a timely fillip after the company raised “going concern” doubts due to lack of adequate cash, in a regulatory filing in November.

Madrigal’s shares more than tripled in pre-market trading to $200.

Edits by EP News Bureau