FGF19 and FGF21: In NASH we trust

Saswata Talukdar, Alexei Kharitonenkov

Objective

FGF19 and FGF21 have shown therapeutic promise since their discovery, attested by the fact there are at least 5 assets that activate the FGFR/KLB pathway and one FGF19 analog in clinical development.

Methods

We performed a detailed analyses of published preclinical and clinical data to offer insights into the mechanism of action, as well as PK/PD and efficacy data of the clinical assets.

Results

Scouring the literature, we offer mechanistic insights from preclinical data using rodents and non-human primates and pharmacodynamic data from clinical studies.

Conclusion

The basic and applied science around endocrine FGFs has evolved exponentially over the years with FGF19 and FGF21 analogs are now entering Phase 3 clinical research.