Another NASH player retreats from battered field after toxicology study flags potential delay

NASH, the notorious liver disease afflicting an increasing number of Americans, has always been the focus at Metacrine ever since serial entrepreneur Rich Heyman unveiled the first round of financing all the way back in 2015.

Not anymore.

The San Diego-based biotech is halting its NASH program and choosing instead to prioritize its effort in pushing the same FXR agonist, MET642, into a Phase II trial for inflammatory bowel disease.