Madrigal Threatens Intercept's Lead in Fatty Liver Disease

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc. more than doubled after a study of its new drug for a disease linked to obesity exceeded investor expectations. The results from a mid-stage study of the fatty liver disease known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, also pushed small-cap peer Viking Therapeutics Inc. higher while shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc., a drugmaker further along in NASH development, slid. Patients getting Madrigal’s experimental therapy known as MGL-3196 had a two-point reduction in a score that measures disease activity with a liver biopsy.