Akero Therapeutics, Inc. Investors: Class Action Lawsuit

Investors can contact law firm for free to learn more about recovering losses

LOS ANGELES, June 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Portnoy Law Firm Announces Investors in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (“Akero” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: AKRO) that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors. We encourage Akero investors who have lost money on their investment to contact Lesley Portnoy, Esq.

Investors are encouraged to contact attorney Lesley F. Portnoy at 310-692-8883 or [email protected] to discuss their rights or click here to join the case via www.portnoylaw .com. Portnoy Law Firm can evaluate your case free of charge and discuss investors’ options for pursuing claims to recover their losses.

Akero is a clinical-stage drug development company that has not yet generated any revenue because the FDA has not approved any of its drug candidates for sale. To fund its operations, Akero conducted two secondary market equity offerings and one at-market equity offering during the contract period, raising more than $577 million. A key element in securing this financing was the development and commercialization of EFX, Akero’s lead product candidate for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (“NASH”), a severe form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease that affects approximately 17 million Americans.

The class period begins on September 13, 2022, when Akero filed a Form 8-K with the SEC reporting 24-week results from the HARMONY Phase 2b study of EFX in patients with pre-cirrhotic NASH. The Form 8-K and accompanying press release stated that both the 50-milligram and 28-milligram doses of EFX achieved statistical significance on primary and secondary histologic endpoints at 24 weeks.

Two days later, on September 15, 2022, Akero filed a prospectus supplement with the SEC relating to the secondary offering of Akero’s common stock. Ultimately, the company sold more than 8.8 million shares at $26 per share, raising approximately $230 million in gross proceeds.

During the period under investigation, defendants repeatedly misled investors about the true nature of the patient population studied in Akero’s SYMMETRY study. Despite claims that the study’s patient population was limited to patients with NASH-induced cirrhosis, a fact crucial to the integrity of the data and the success of the study, Akero did not confirm that approximately 20% of the patients had NASH or that NASH was the cause of the cirrhosis.

On October 10, 2023, Akero shocked the market by releasing disappointing interim data from its Phase 2b SYMMETRY trial for EFX. Specifically, Akero reported that 22% (28 mg) and 24% (50 mg) of those taking EFX and 14% of those taking placebo had at least one stage of improvement in fibrosis without worsening of NASH at week 36, the primary endpoint. study, but these changes were not statistically significant. Additionally, 12 patients, including 11 in the EFX groups, discontinued the study due to drug-related side effects. On this news, Akero’s stock price fell $30.39 per share, or 62.61%, to close at $18.15 per share on October 10, 2023.

Please visit our website for additional information and to submit your transaction details.

Portnoy Law Firm represents investors in pursuing claims resulting from corporate irregularities. The company’s founding partner recovered over $5.5 billion for injured investors. Attorney advertising. Past performance does not guarantee similar results.

Lesley F. Portnoy, Esq.
Admitted to the bar in California and New York
[email protected]
310-692-8883
www.portnoylaw.com
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