Neither Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. nor Viking Therapeutics, Inc. presented much data for their non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) candidates at the just-ended American Association for the Study of Liver Disease meeting, but the firms still garnered attention for their thyroid hormone receptor beta (THRβ) agonist candidates. Madrigal is viewed as leading the race to bring the first NASH drug therapy to market with resmetirom, which has a Phase III readout expected imminently, and the attention has benefited Viking, which asserts its Phase IIb VK2809 will offer important differentiation in the class.
Madrigal presented data earlier this year at the European Association for the Study of Liver Disease meeting bolstering its view that the THRβ mechanism’s ability to reduce hepatic fat will translate to clinical benefits of NASH resolution and reduction in fibrosis
