Ionis’s DGAT2 inhibitor showed potential to improve disease activity score and resolve metabolic-associated steatohepatitis in a Phase II study, but analysts point to fibrosis-reduction data as competitively intriguing.

More than 100 biopharma executives and experts told Scrip their predictions for therapeutic area advances in the coming year. The recent commercial success of GLP-1s in diabetes and obesity and their potential in further disease areas fuelled excitement around the metabolic space. Expectations were also positive in neurology following the launch of Leqembi for Alzheimer’s disease in 2023, while the multiple opportunities to improve cancer treatment kept oncology top of the pile overall.

With the integration with new parent LG Chem having gone "smoothly," AVEO Oncology is accelerating R&D efforts by beginning a pivotal Phase III trial with a combination of its novel candidate for head and neck cancer.

FDA’s Peter Marks says educating academics about CMC would help them understand why it is necessary to do things in a standardized way. He predicts the field will move away from individual manufacturing platforms in the next five to 10 years.