Akero Beats Investor Suit Over Liver Drug Trial Design for Now

Akero Therapeutics Inc. defeated investor allegations that the drug maker misled them over clinical trial participants while it sought cash to bring its candidate for treating a form of fatty liver disease to market, a federal judge ruled Monday.

The company and its executives’ alleged motive to trick investors ahead of releasing disappointing trial results contained “troubling gaps” that didn’t overcome Akero’s plausible inference of non-fraudulent intent, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said.

The US District Court for the Northern District of California judge’s order said holistically Akero’s explanations as to why it didn’t have the requisite level of intent to ...