Shares of Akero Therapeutics (AKRO) dropped sharply in the pre-market session on Friday, plummeting around 8.06%. The biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for serious metabolic diseases faced a setback as it presented the results of its Phase 2b HARMONY study for its lead candidate efruxifermin (EFX) in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) at the 75th Annual AASLD The Liver Meeting®.

While the results showed some promising signs of anti-fibrotic effects and disease reversal with EFX treatment, the overall data failed to meet the high expectations of investors and analysts. The company highlighted that 42% of participants receiving the higher 50mg dose of EFX for 96 weeks showed improvement in liver fibrosis across multiple measures, including conventional histopathology, imaging biomarkers, and serum biomarkers. However, this figure was lower than anticipated, and the lower 28mg dose showed even weaker results.

Analysts expressed concerns about the efficacy and potential differentiation of EFX in the highly competitive MASH market. Despite Akero's claims of consistent anti-fibrotic effects and a favorable safety profile, investors seem to have been disappointed by the lack of more compelling data to support EFX's potential as a transformative therapy in this indication.