Safety and efficacy of 24 weeks of pemvidutide in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: A randomized, controlled clinical trial

Background & Aims

This was a double-blind 12-week extension of a randomized, placebo-controlled, 12-week trial of pemvidutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist, in individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

Methods

Completers of a double-blind trial of pemvidutide in MASLD, who were previously randomized 1:1:1:1 to pemvidutide at 1.2 mg, 1.8 mg, or 2.4 mg, or placebo administered subcutaneously once weekly for 12 weeks, were offered an additional 12 weeks of treatment at their originally assigned dose for a total of 24 weeks of treatment. Participants were stratified by the presence or absence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The primary efficacy endpoint was relative reduction (%) from baseline in liver fat content by magnetic resonance imaging-proton density fat fraction after 24 weeks of treatment.

Results

There were 64 participants in the extension trial. Baseline mean values for BMI and liver fat content were 36.7 kg/m² and 22.2%; 26.6% of participants had T2DM. After 24 weeks of treatment, pemvidutide achieved relative reductions in liver fat content from baseline of 56.3%, 75.2%, and 76.4% for the pemvidutide 1.2 mg, 1.8 mg, and 2.4 mg groups respectively, vs. 14.0% for placebo (p <0.001 vs. placebo, all treatment groups), with 84.6% of participants achieving 50% reductions in liver fat content and 53.8% achieving normalization (≤5% liver fat content) at the 1.8 mg dose. Body weight was also reduced by 6.2% (p <0.001 vs. placebo) over 24 weeks of treatment. Pemvidutide was well-tolerated at all doses, with low incidences of side effects.

Conclusions

In individuals with MASLD, 24 weeks of pemvidutide treatment resulted in significant reductions in liver fat content and body weight that further improved upon the effects observed at 12 weeks.

Impact and implications

Overweight and obesity are strongly associated with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), as the excess liver fat associated with obesity is a known driver of these conditions. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists elicit weight loss through centrally and peripherally mediated effects on appetite, whereas G-coupled glucagon receptor (GCGR) agonists act directly on the liver to stimulate fatty acid oxidation and inhibit lipogenesis, providing a more potent mechanism for reducing liver fat content than weight loss alone. We previously showed that once-weekly treatment with pemvidutide, a dual GLP-1R/GCGR agonist, significantly reduced liver fat content, hepatic inflammatory activity, and body weight over 12 weeks. The current trial demonstrates that continued treatment with pemvidutide further improves these clinical markers of MASH.

Clinical Trials Registration

The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05292911).