Pfizer Study Finds Progress in Combating Fatty Liver

Pfizer unveiled mid-stage study results illustrating that a drug that prevents the body from metabolising fructose significantly reduced liver fat, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

Pfizer says the drug, which targets fructokinase, can reverse or prevent the progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and potentially treat diabetes.

"We were pleasantly surprised by the results," remarked Pfizer senior vice president Morris Birnbaum, continuing "beyond improving liver fat, we think we're working with a mechanism that can be used more broadly to treat metabolic abnormalities."

In the study of 53 patients with high levels of fat in their livers, about one-third of whom had mild diabetes, patients who received the drug experienced a 26.5-percent reduction in liver fat, versus 7.8 percent for placebo.

"Our underlying hypothesis is that if we address liver fat in the NASH population, it will have a positive effect in improving their fibrosis," stated Birnbaum.

Pfizer additionally suggested that the treatment could be combined with anti-fibrotic drugs being jointly developed with Novartis.

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