Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, is one of the largest disease opportunities we have ever seen, explains John McCamant, editor of The Medical technology Stock Letter.
NASH is a silent epidemic; an estimated 6-9 million Americans have the disease and there are no current treatments approved.
There are no current treatments approved for NASH, and the disease is of particular interest to drug developers as it represents the critical turning point where the disease may progress to cirrhosis and chronic liver disease.
Madrigal (MDGL) has a significant market opportunity to treat NASH. Its MGL-3196 is well positioned as a potential treatment when the illness is at its earliest stages of development, and thereby save the most lives and money.
A drug that can treat NASH by targeting inflammation early in the disease progression has the potential to treat a slew of lipid disorders, diabetes, and potentially the Holy Grail of drug development, obesity.
MDGL will have multiple data readouts over the next 9-12 months. The first data should be interim safety assessment from the Phase II trials in early-2017 which would set up the actual data to be delivered throughout 2017.
While one drug may not completely dominate the space given the complexity and varying levels of disease, in our view, MGL-3196 has “best in class” potential.
It will be dosed once-a-day and its high specificity for THR- ß gives it a very wide therapeutic window with an excellent safety profile to date.
These are all the characteristics of blockbuster drug that could become the lead monotherapy for NASH and the backbone for subsequent combination therapies.
In our view, MDGL has the “right stuff” for success, an experienced and talented management team with a potential “Best in Class” drug for a huge market. MDGL is a buy under $25.
Subscribe to John McCamant's The Medical technology Stock Letter here…
