Akero Shows FGF21/GLP-1 Combo’s Potential In NASH And Type 2 Diabetes

Phase IIb data show that Akero’s efruxifermin on top of GLP-1 therapy is relatively safe and offers liver fat reductions and fibrosis improvements in NASH patients with type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes
Akero combo shows safety, efficacy in NASH patients with type 2 diabetes • Source: Shutterstock

About nine months after providing the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) space with some needed positive data, Akero Therapeutics, Inc. unveiled top-line Phase IIb data on 5 June showing that its FGF21 analog efruxifermin can significantly reduce liver fat content (LFC) with a relatively clean safety profile when combined with a GLP-1 analog in patients with NASH and type 2 diabetes.

Although the results were from a small sample – a 31-patient cohort of the Phase IIb SYMMETRY study – analysts called the data an important validation of the potential of combining the two drug classes in patients with both NASH and type 2 diabetes, two diseases with often-overlapping patient bases and causality

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