This 18-week randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, proof of concept (POC), dose-ranging study compared multiple doses of HTD1801 to placebo in a 1:1:1 ratio. Since accumulation of hepatic fat is considered the "first hit" in the pathogenesis of NASH (Adams and Angulo 2006), change in liver fat content (LFC) by magnetic resonance imaging estimated proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) is an appropriate primary endpoint and is consistent with that used in other recent Phase 2 POC studies in NASH (Harrison et al., 2018, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals 2018).
The Harrison et al., 2018, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals 2018 study showed clinically meaningful absolute and relative reductions in LFC assessed by MRI-PDFF over 12-week treatment periods thus, it was considered that an 18 week HTD1801 treatment period would therefore be adequate to assess the study's primary endpoint and to maximize collection of exposure and safety related data.
