Obesity-Made Fatty Liver Drives Midcap Race for Wonder Drug

The race is on to identify the wonder drug that will treat an increasingly common consequence of obesity: the fatty liver disease known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc. is expected to report results from a mid-stage study in NASH by May 31. The drug developer is racing against peers like Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. to get its experimental therapy known as MGL-3196 to the market.

Once closely held, Madrigal became a public company after combining forces with oncology company Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. in 2016, following the failure of Synta’s lead cancer-fighting drug. Madrigal has more than doubled since ...