SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: NGM), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on harnessing powerful biology to develop transformative therapeutics for patients, today announced multiple aldafermin (NGM282) poster presentations at AASLD’s The Liver Meeting® 2019, which will take place in Boston from November 8-12, 2019. Aldafermin, NGM’s wholly owned lead clinical candidate, is an engineered variant of the human hormone FGF19, currently in a Phase 2b clinical study for the treatment of patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH.

As previously reported by NGM, aldafermin has demonstrated potent and profound metabolic and anti-fibrotic activity in Phase 2 clinical studies, including the inhibition of bile acid synthesis, reduction in liver fat content, improvement in inflammation, and rapid regression of liver fibrosis after 12 weeks of treatment. The poster presentations at The Liver Meeting will include several new analyses of aldafermin Phase 2 data that further describe the drug’s powerful impact on liver disease, including NASH and primary sclerosing cholangitis.

“We have continued to mine our deep body of aldafermin Phase 2 data, in collaboration with some of today’s most widely respected liver disease researchers, to better understand how this drug works across multiple pathogenic pathways to elicit a powerful impact on metabolic parameters and fibrosis. These new findings are also helping to elucidate new biological insights about liver disease,” said Hsiao D. Lieu, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at NGM. “We look forward to sharing our novel findings at The Liver Meeting, and to convening with colleagues to learn about the latest research and drug development progress dedicated to helping patients.”

Aldafermin (NGM282) Presentations

Saturday, November 9

Abstract Number:  1327
Publication Title:  Bile Acids and Liver Fibrosis:  Shared Anti-Fibrotic Effects of NGM282, an FGF19 Analogue, in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis and Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis
Session Title:  PBC/PSC and Other Cholestatic Disease
Presentation Type:  Poster Presentation
Presenting Author:  Gideon Hirschfield, Ph.D., Professor, Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, University of Toronto 
Session Time:  2:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Dr. Hirschfield will be available from 5:15 pm – 6:15 pm.
Location:  Hynes Convention Center, Hall B

Sunday, November 10

Abstract Number:  1747
Publication Title:  12 Weeks of NGM282 Therapy Produced Significant and Sustained Reduction in cT1 in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis
Session Title:  NAFLD and NASH - Diagnostics and Biomarkers
Presentation Type:  Poster Presentation
Presenting Author:  Stephen A. Harrison, M.D., Medical Director at Pinnacle Clinical Research, Visiting Professor of Hepatology at University of Oxford, UK; Principal Investigator of Aldafermin (NGM282) Phase 2 NASH Study
Session Time:  8:00 am – 5:30 pm
Dr. Harrison will be available from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm.
Location:  Hynes Convention Center, Hall B

Monday, November 11

Abstract Number:  1933
Presentation Title:  Stable Gut Microbiome Composition and Diversity with NGM282 Therapy in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis
Session Title:  Gut Liver Axis and Microbiome
Presentation Type:  Poster Presentation
Presenting Author:  Rohit Loomba, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, and Adjunct Professor, Division of Epidemiology at University of California, San Diego
Session Time:  8:00 am – 5:30 pm 
Dr. Loomba will be available from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm.
Presentation Location:  Hynes Convention Center, Hall B

Abstract Number:  2092
Presentation Title:  NGM282, an FGF19 Analogue, Reduces Net Deposition of Collagen III in Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis and Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
Session Title:  Imaging and Noninvasive Markers of Liver Disease
Presentation Type:  Poster Presentation
Presenting Author:  Stephen A. Harrison, M.D., Medical Director at Pinnacle Clinical Research, Visiting Professor of Hepatology at University of Oxford, UK; Principal Investigator of Aldafermin (NGM282) Phase 2 NASH Study
Dr. Harrison will be available from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm.
Session Time:  8:00 am – 5:30 pm
Location:  Hynes Convention Center, Hall B

About Aldafermin (NGM282)

Aldafermin is an engineered variant of the human hormone FGF19 that reduces liver fat content, improves liver function and reverses fibrosis by targeting multiple pathogenic pathways of liver disease. NGM has generated robust preclinical and clinical evidence supporting the ability of aldafermin to resolve disease and reverse fibrosis in NASH patients. This wholly NGM-owned therapeutic has been evaluated in multiple Phase 2 studies in primary biliary cholangitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, type 2 diabetes and NASH. Aldafermin’s safety database includes clinical data from more than 400 individuals. NGM is currently enrolling patients in ALPINE 2/3, an ongoing Phase 2b clinical study of aldafermin in NASH patients with stages F2 and F3 fibrosis.

About NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

NGM is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapeutics based on scientific understanding of key biological pathways underlying cardio-metabolic, liver, oncologic and ophthalmic diseases. The company leverages its biology-centric drug discovery approach to uncover novel mechanisms of action and generate proprietary insights that enable it to move rapidly into proof-of-concept studies and deliver potential first-in-class medicines to patients. NGM aspires to operate one of the most productive research and development engines in the biopharmaceutical industry, with multiple programs in clinical development. Visit http://www.ngmbio.com for more information.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “on track,” “plan(s),” “look forward to,” “seek to,” “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend” and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include those related to the timing, enrollment and results of Phase 2 clinical studies of aldafermin, and the safety, tolerability and efficacy of aldafermin. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on NGM’s current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties and actual results, performance or achievements of NGM could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in the sections titled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 and other filings that NGM makes from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, NGM assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons if actual results differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.