SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 20, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company that seeks to translate powerful biology into transformative medicines, today announced that new preclinical data on its lead compound, NGM282, will be presented in ePoster Sessions at the European Association for the Study of the Liver's 50th International Liver CongressTM 2015, which is being held April 22-26 at the Reed Messe Wien Congress & Exhibition Center in Vienna, Austria.
NGM282 is a first-in-class engineered protein variant of the human hormone FGF19 that inhibits bile acid synthesis, decreases triglycerides and improves insulin sensitivity. The data to be presented explored the biologic activity of NGM282 in preclinical models of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and severe cholestatic liver injury.
"The demonstrated antifibrotic activity of NGM282 across multiple disease models is key to further understanding its therapeutic potential in a broad range of liver diseases," said Alex DePaoli, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of NGM. "NGM looks forward to initiating exploratory studies of NGM282 in patients with NASH, as well as in several adult and pediatric diseases involving disordered bile acid synthesis and regulation."
Details on the poster presentations are as follows:
Title: Poster 932: Treatment with NGM282 Significantly Improves Liver Histopathology in a Mouse Model of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)
Date: Thursday, April 23
Time: 13:00 - 13:30 CEST
Location: Hall B ePoster Area
Improvements in the liver histology components of the NAFLD Activity Score (NAS), including steatosis, inflammation and hepatocyte degeneration, were seen in NGM282 treated mice versus controls. The STAMTM model of NASH disease progression has been utilized as an initial screen of biologic activity for agents in development for the treatment of NASH. http://www.ngmbio.com/press/rs_4038_ngm282_nash_20150420.pdf
Title: Poster 933: NGM282 Exhibits Potent Anti-Inflammatory and Antifibrotic Activity in FXR-Null Mice with Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) Histopathology
Date: Thursday, April 23
Time: 13:00 - 13:30 CEST
Location: Hall B ePoster Area
These data demonstrated the significant decreases in the gene expression of key cytokines, pro-fibrogenic markers and collagens relevant to the progression of hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis. The data are complementary to the STAM data of potential activity in the different stages of NASH-related liver disease. http://www.ngmbio.com/press/rs_3836_ngm282_fxr_20150420.pdf
Title: Poster 1140: NGM282 Demonstrates Potent Antifibrotic Activity in a Mouse Model of Severe Cholestatic Fibrosis
Date: Saturday, April 25
Time: 13:00 - 13:30 CEST
Location: Hall B ePoster Area
The antifibrotic activity of NGM282 is further supported by improvements in liver histology and suppression of fibrosis gene expression, as well as an improvement in biochemical markers of liver injury and survival rates, in a chronic bile duct ligation model of severe cholestatic injury. http://www.ngmbio.com/press/rs_4072_ngm282_antifibrotic_activity_20150420.pdf
"NGM282's activity in these models of NASH was important in forming the therapeutic rationale for initiating a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study in histologically confirmed NASH patients, which will commence in the first half of this year," said William Rieflin, Chief Executive Officer of NGM.
Additional information on the conference can be found on the EASL web site: https://ilc-congress.eu/registration-ilc2015/.
About NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
NGM Biopharmaceuticals applies fundamental discoveries in human pathophysiology to create novel biologics for the treatment of a broad spectrum of life-threatening diseases. NGM's lead compound, NGM282, a wholly-owned asset, is being studied in a variety of bile acid-related diseases and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. NGM has established collaborations with Merck, MedImmune and JDRF. NGM is a privately held company backed by investments from The Column Group, Merck, Prospect Ventures, Rho Ventures, Tichenor Ventures, Topspin Partners and other leading investors around the world. For more information, please visit www.ngmbio.com.