Ionis Pharma’s fatty liver disease drug succeeds in mid-stage trial

(Reuters) – Ionis Pharmaceuticals said on Wednesday its experimental drug to treat a type of fatty liver disease met the main goal of a mid-stage trial.

The drug candidate, called ION224, was tested in a 160-patient study for 51 weeks, and helped improve symptoms of the disease in both tested doses.

The condition, earlier called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), has no approved drugs, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expected to decide on rival Madrigal Pharmacauticals’ drug by Thursday.

(Reporting by Pratik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza and Sriraj Kalluvila)