(Reuters) -Ionis Pharmaceuticals said on Wednesday its experimental drug to treat a type of fatty liver disease met the main goal of reducing inflammation of the critical organ in a mid-stage trial.
The results come as companies race to bring the first approved treatment for the disease and tap into a global market expected to surpass $16 billion by 2030, according to market research firm Vision Research Reports.
Akero Therapeutics last week reported its experimental drug significantly reduced scarring after nearly two years in a mid-stage study while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals' treatment by Thursday.
The trial enrolled 160 metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) patients with scarring or fibrosis at severity of stage two or three, Ionis said.
The company said 32% of patients who received a higher dose of the drug, called ION224, saw improved scarring in the liver by at least one stage as measured by a biopsy, or tissue examination, compared to 12.5% patients on placebo.
Ionis said 44% of patients treated with a higher dose version achieved more than 50% relative reduction in abnormal retention of fat when measured by a quantitative imaging biomarker compared to 3% for placebo.
The company studied the drug - designed to reduce the production of an integral membrane protein - for 51 weeks in a two-part trial.
The condition, earlier called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), affects around 5% of the U.S. population.
Ionis said a subgroup analysis indicated significant improvements in the main trial goal in patients with advanced liver scarring.
The company's shares were up 4% before the bell on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Pratik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Sriraj Kalluvila)
