Axcella Hopes Interim NASH Data Can Help Extend Its Financial Runway

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is a hard therapeutic space to stand out in, but cash-poor Axcella Therapeutics, Inc. is trying to get attention from partners or financial backers with positive interim data from a Phase IIb study. The biotech’s endogenous metabolic modulator AXA1125 met statistical significance on several secondary NASH endpoints in a scheduled interim look, but Axcella may not have enough money to get to final data expected in early 2024.

On 29 September, the Cambridge, MA-based company reported that AXA1125, a therapeutic combination of “generally recognized as safe” amino acids that can provide target regulation and signaling in various disease...