Treatment with Akero Therapeutics’ investigational efruxifermin led to reversals of compensated cirrhosis, or irreversible scarring in a still-functioning liver, among adults with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a severe form of fatty liver disease.
These top-line results are from the Phase 2b SYMMETRY clinical trial (NCT05039450).
These findings — which are preliminary — are in line with data from the Phase 2b HARMONY trial (NCT04767529), which showed that use of the therapy reduced liver scarring, known as fibrosis, among adults with MASH-related fibrosis that hadn’t yet progressed to cirrhosis.
“These exciting results, which build on last year’s … results for the Phase 2b HARMONY study … show [efruxifermin’s] potential to improve outcomes not only for patients with pre-cirrhotic fibrosis, but also for those with compensated cirrhosis — a population in urgent need of effective therapeutic options,” Andrew Cheng, MD, PhD, president and CEO of Akero, said in the release, which reported the company’s financial results for 2024 and provided business updates.
The firm is now further investigating efruxifermin across the MASLD/MASH spectrum via three clinical trials in its Phase 3 SYNCHRONY program.