An Australian study led by University of Melbourne scientists has identified a previously unknown role for the hepatokine, sparc-related modular calcium-binding protein 1 (SMOC1), in suppressing hepatic glucose production. The investigators reported their results in the Sept. 2, 2020, edition of Science Translational Medicine.
Two companies, Hightide Therapeutics Inc. and Axcella Health Inc., posted positive data from recent liver disease studies while Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc. missed its phase II liver study’s primary endpoint.
Fractyl Laboratories Inc. has released data from a mixed meal tolerance study that shows its procedure for resurfacing the duodenal mucosa improves fasting blood glucose and reduces liver fat.
Ann Arbor, Mich.-based startup Endra Life Sciences Inc. started out focused on a photoacoustic imaging tool for mice in the lab, but in recent years it has shifted gears. Now, it aims to secure the go-ahead next year from European and U.S. regulators to launch a thermo-acoustic enhanced ultrasound system designed to quantitatively assess liver fat, known as TAEUS.
Fractyl Laboratories Inc. is pioneering a procedure known as duodenal mucosal resurfacing (DMR) to reverse chronic metabolic disorders. This month it has reported positive results from a couple of clinical trials that are shaping its planning for a pivotal trial that is slated to start next year in type 2 diabetes patients.