The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) 2026 Congress opens in Barcelona on Wednesday May 27 and runs through Saturday May 30. The peptide-MASH slate is the most concentrated single-meeting hepatic data dump in 2026.
Novo Nordisk's ESSENCE Phase 3 program leads with semaglutide 2.4 mg liver-safety subgroup analyses including the dedicated Japanese MASH cohort and women-in-menopause subset, building on the August 2025 FDA MASH-with-fibrosis approval. Eli Lilly's retatrutide MASLD Phase 3 (NCT06859268) enrollment status updates anchor on the 86% Phase 2 liver-fat reduction baseline ahead of an H1 2027 topline. Boehringer Ingelheim's survodutide SYNCHRONIZE-1 Phase 3 MASH data is anticipated late 2026 — pre-EASL talks may give preview color. MetaVia's vanoglipel (DA-1241, GPR119 agonist) Phase 2a + resmetirom MASH combination work anchors the dual-mechanism MASH therapy thesis.
EASL 2026 lands two days before ASCO 2026 opens in Chicago on May 29 — the back-to-back conference schedule concentrates the most peptide-mechanism data of any week in 2026. Stories here cover trial readouts, regulatory milestones, and the broader cardiometabolic-peptide hepatic disease landscape. See #mash, #retatrutide, and #survodutide for adjacent threads.
EASL 2026's final day delivered a cluster of hepatitis B functional-cure late-breakers spanning gene, epigenetic, and immune approaches. TUNE Therapeutics presented TUNE-401 (May 30, 13:30 CEST), a first-in-class epigenetic silencer of HBV demonstrating deep and durable antiviral activity. Precision BioSciences presented PBGENE-HBV gene-editing data from the ELIMINATE-B study showing first evidence of elimination and inactivation of cccDNA — the persistent viral reservoir that makes HBV functionally incurable — in liver biopsies from treated chronic HBV patients. Brii Bio presented end-of-study data from the Phase 2 ENSURE study supporting BRII-179, a protein-based therapeutic HBV vaccine designed to restore immune control. The functional-cure wave advances alongside the entry-inhibitor approaches covered earlier in the week — Gilead's just-approved bulevirtide peptide (Hepcludex) and Assembly Biosciences' oral ABI-6250 — illustrating that HBV/HDV is becoming a multi-modality battleground across peptides, gene editing, epigenetic silencing, and therapeutic vaccines.
EASL 2026 closed in Barcelona on May 30 after a week that reshaped two liver-disease narratives. On MASH: the GLP-1/glucagon peptide cohort (survodutide NEJM 47-62% MASH improvement, pemvidutide Best of EASL with cardiometabolic and fibrosis data, MetaVia DA-1726 9.1% weight loss) competed against THR-β agonism (Madrigal Rezdiffra, Aligos ALG-055009 46% liver fat), RNAi (Arrowhead ARO-INHBE), and FGF21 analogs (the Akero and 89bio programs that drew $5.2B and $3.5B acquisitions). On HBV/HDV: the entry-inhibitor peptides (Gilead's newly approved bulevirtide, Assembly's oral ABI-6250) shared the stage with gene editing (Precision PBGENE-HBV cccDNA elimination), epigenetic silencing (TUNE-401), capsid modulation plus ASO sequencing (Aligos), and therapeutic vaccines (Brii BRII-179). The combined week confirmed that liver disease is now a multi-mechanism therapeutic arena where peptides anchor the metabolic and entry-inhibitor lanes while gene and immune modalities pursue functional cure. ADA 2026 (June 5-8 New Orleans) is the next major readout window for the metabolic-peptide side.
Aligos Therapeutics presented additional EASL 2026 data on its chronic hepatitis B (HBV) combination strategy. An analog of ALG-170675, a potential best-in-class antisense oligonucleotide (ASO), demonstrated additive-to-synergistic effects when combined with ALG-001075 (the active parent moiety of pevifoscorvir sodium, a capsid assembly modulator). Separately, 40% of HBeAg-positive chronic HBV patients treated with pevifoscorvir sodium for 48 weeks reached HBsAg reductions low enough to potentially qualify for ASO treatment — supporting a sequencing strategy toward functional HBV cure where the capsid modulator lowers viral antigen load before the ASO finishes the job. The data complements the ALG-055009 THR-β MASH results (46.2% liver-fat reduction) Aligos presented earlier in the week. The combination-and-sequencing approach mirrors the broader trend in liver disease toward layered mechanisms rather than single-agent therapy, and positions Aligos across the HBV, HDV, and MASH liver-disease franchises.
MetaVia's higher-dose Phase 1 readout for DA-1726 at EASL 2026 produced specific efficacy numbers: the 48 mg cohort in obese but otherwise healthy adults achieved 9.1% mean body-weight reduction and a 9.8 cm waist-circumference reduction at Day 54, with exploratory FibroScan liver improvements and no serious adverse events. DA-1726 is a once-weekly subcutaneous oxyntomodulin analog acting as a 3:1 ratio GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist for obesity and MASH. The 9.1% weight loss in roughly eight weeks is a fast trajectory for an early-phase obesity peptide and supports MetaVia's case heading into the 16-week Phase 1 Part 3 titration study reading out Q4 2026. The waist reduction (a glucagon-receptor-driven visceral-fat signal) and the FibroScan liver improvements position DA-1726 in the dual obesity-and-MASH lane alongside survodutide and pemvidutide. MetaVia's three ADA 2026 late-breaking abstracts (June 7 New Orleans) extend the DA-1726 and vanoglipel data sets.
EASL 2026 wraps in Barcelona Saturday May 30 after a week that confirmed MASH as a multi-mechanism therapeutic battleground. The GLP-1/glucagon peptide cohort delivered the headline data: Boehringer Ingelheim's survodutide full 48-week Phase 2 results in the NEJM (47-62% MASH improvement without fibrosis worsening, Phase 3 LIVERAGE enrolling); Altimmune's pemvidutide 48-week IMPACT data selected 'Best of EASL 2026' (triglycerides -23.7%, weight -7.5%, with HistoIndex qFibrosis fibrosis regression); MetaVia DA-1726 higher-dose Phase 1. The non-peptide cohort: Madrigal Rezdiffra eight-poster cardiovascular and portal-hypertension data, Aligos ALG-055009 THR-β (46.2% liver fat), Arrowhead ARO-INHBE RNAi (44% liver fat plus tirzepatide combination doubling weight loss), Galectin belapectin, Sagimet denifanstat. Novo Nordisk's ESSENCE Japanese and menopausal subgroups plus real-world burden data anchored the semaglutide MASH-labeling case. The week established that no single mechanism dominates MASH — GLP-1/glucagon leads on combined weight-plus-liver effect, THR-β and FGF21 lead on direct antifibrotic action, and combination therapy is the emerging 2027-2028 thesis.
Altimmune presented the full Week 48 top-line IMPACT Phase 2b oral data for pemvidutide in MASH today at EASL 2026 Barcelona (Dr. Mazen Noureddin, Houston Methodist Hospital, 17:00 CEST). The 1.8 mg dose reduced triglycerides 23.7%, total cholesterol 15.4%, body weight 7.5%, BMI 3.0 kg/m², and waist circumference 5.3 cm, alongside blood pressure reduction. Safety held at 48 weeks with roughly 1% discontinuation due to adverse events and mostly mild-to-moderate gastrointestinal events. Previously reported: 27.8% (1.2 mg) and 32.4% (1.8 mg) of patients achieved combined ELF and LSM improvements versus 3.2% on placebo. The 48-week analysis carries the 'Best of EASL 2026' designation. Pemvidutide is a balanced 1:1 GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist peptide with FDA Fast Track + Breakthrough Therapy Designations for MASH. The cardiometabolic-risk-factor profile positions pemvidutide as differentiated on the lipid and cardiovascular axis versus pure GLP-1 agonists.
Boehringer Ingelheim's survodutide full 48-week Phase 2 MASH dataset published in the New England Journal of Medicine alongside the EASL 2026 presentation. MASH improvement without worsening of fibrosis occurred in 47% of the 2.4 mg group, 62% of the 4.8 mg group, and 43% of the 6.0 mg group, versus 14% on placebo. Up to 52% of survodutide-treated adults achieved significant improvement across fibrosis stages F1, F2, and F3 versus around 26% on placebo. Survodutide is an investigational long-acting glucagon/GLP-1 receptor dual agonist (BI 456906, partnered with Zealand Pharma) for once-weekly subcutaneous administration. The Phase 3 program is advancing through LIVERAGE (~1,800 adults with MASH F2-F3) and LIVERAGE-Cirrhosis (~1,590 adults with compensated MASH cirrhosis F4). Survodutide also posted 16.6% weight loss in the SYNCHRONIZE-1 obesity Phase 3 (April 2026). The NEJM publication is the strongest peer-reviewed validation of the GLP-1/glucagon dual mechanism in MASH to date.
Aligos Therapeutics presented positive data across ten presentations at EASL 2026 Barcelona. The headline MASH data: ALG-055009, a THR-β (thyroid hormone receptor beta) agonist small molecule, met its primary endpoint in the Phase 2a HERALD study with robust liver-fat reduction at week 12 — doses of 0.5 mg to 0.9 mg achieving statistically significant reductions with placebo-adjusted median relative reductions up to 46.2% as measured by MRI-PDFF. On the viral hepatology side, Aligos presented Phase 1 data on pevifoscorvir sodium suggesting a reduced cccDNA reservoir in chronic HBV patients, with an investigator-led study showing ≥24-week follow-up in HBeAg+ participants after 96 weeks of monotherapy. The combined slate spans the Aligos chronic HBV, HDV, MASH, and liver cancer pipeline. The ALG-055009 THR-β mechanism puts Aligos in direct competition with Madrigal's Rezdiffra (resmetirom), the only FDA-approved MASH therapy, on the same receptor target.
Assembly Biosciences presented topline Phase 1a data on ABI-6250 at EASL 2026 (poster WED-579, Dr. Edward Gane, University of Auckland) — a first-in-class oral hepatitis D virus (HDV) entry inhibitor. The Phase 1a study evaluated safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamic activity in healthy participants; the data supports advancing directly into a Phase 2 study by year-end. ABI-6250 is the only oral entry inhibitor in development for chronic HDV. The mechanistic context matters: Gilead's Hepcludex (bulevirtide) — a 47-amino-acid injectable lipopeptide NTCP entry inhibitor — just won FDA accelerated approval May 22 as the first US HDV treatment. ABI-6250 targets the same entry-inhibition step but as an oral small molecule rather than an injectable peptide, positioning it as a potential next-generation convenience competitor in the small but newly-validated HDV market. Assembly also announced May 22 an expansion of ABI-6250 development into cholestatic liver diseases. The peptide-vs-small-molecule dynamic in HDV mirrors the same competition that played out in GLP-1 (injectable semaglutide vs oral orforglipron).
EASL 2026's first two days clarified the MASH-therapeutics competitive map across five mechanism classes. GLP-1/glucagon dual peptides: Altimmune pemvidutide (48-week IMPACT data, Best of EASL), Boehringer survodutide (NEJM 47-62% MASH improvement, LIVERAGE Phase 3), MetaVia DA-1726 (48 mg Phase 1). THR-β agonists: Madrigal Rezdiffra (only FDA-approved MASH therapy, eight EASL posters), Aligos ALG-055009 (46.2% liver-fat reduction Phase 2a). RNAi: Arrowhead ARO-INHBE (Activin E/ALK7, 44% liver fat, tirzepatide combination). FASN inhibition: Sagimet denifanstat + Rezdiffra combination. FGF21 analogs: the Akero efruxifermin (Novo $5.2B acquisition) and 89bio pegozafermin (Roche $3.5B acquisition) programs anchoring the most-acquired MASH mechanism. Plus galectin-3 inhibition (Galectin belapectin NAVIGATE) and pan-PPAR agonism (Inventiva lanifibranor NATiV3 Phase 3). The GLP-1/glucagon peptide class leads on combined weight-loss-plus-liver effect; the FGF21 and THR-β classes lead on pure antifibrotic mechanism. Combination therapy across mechanism classes is the emerging 2026 thesis.
Novo Nordisk extended its EASL 2026 ESSENCE presentation cycle into Day 2 with real-world evidence quantifying the MASH disease burden — documenting significant quality-of-life impairment and escalating healthcare costs in MASH patients — alongside the Japanese MASH and menopausal women subgroup analyses presented Day 1. The data builds the health-economic case for semaglutide 2.4 mg following the August 2025 FDA MASH-with-fibrosis approval. MASH affects roughly 1 in 3 people living with overweight or obesity worldwide, with the majority undiagnosed. Novo's 'Love Your Liver' EASL initiative offered on-site MASH testing for attendees. The real-world burden data complements the ESSENCE Phase 3 efficacy story by establishing the economic and quality-of-life rationale for early MASH intervention — a payer-facing argument as the GLP-1 MASH indication scales into 2026-2027 against the THR-β, FGF21, and GLP-1/glucagon competitor classes.
Altimmune released new analyses from the IMPACT Phase 2b trial today at EASL 2026 Barcelona. The late-breaking poster LBP-036 (Dr. Shaheen Tomah, 08:30 CEST) reported pemvidutide treatment produced concurrent improvements across multiple non-invasive tests of MASH activity and fibrosis, with HistoIndex qFibrosis digital-pathology analysis documenting significant fibrosis-stage improvements at 24 weeks versus placebo. The trial randomized 212 biopsy-confirmed MASH patients (F2-F3 fibrosis, with and without diabetes) to weekly subcutaneous pemvidutide 1.2 mg, 1.8 mg, or placebo over 48 weeks. Companion data on response analysis across NITs of liver inflammation/fibrosis and cardiovascular measures landed in additional posters. The abstract carries the EASL committee's 'Best of EASL 2026' top-tier selection. Pemvidutide is a 1:1 balanced GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist peptide with FDA Fast Track + Breakthrough Therapy Designations for MASH; oral presentation Thursday May 28 at 17:00 CEST anchors the 48-week efficacy and safety data.
MetaVia presented late-breaking Phase 1 data on DA-1726 at the EASL Congress 2026 today in Barcelona. The poster titled 'Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics, and Pharmacodynamics of DA-1726, an Oxyntomodulin Analogue, in a Higher-Dose Phase 1 Cohort with Exploratory Noninvasive Liver Assessment' covers the 48 mg dose level. DA-1726 is a once-weekly subcutaneous oxyntomodulin analog functioning as a GLP-1 receptor (GLP1R) and glucagon receptor (GCGR) dual agonist for obesity and MASH. The 4-week Phase 1 MAD trial earlier in 2026 documented compelling weight loss with best-in-class potential glucose control (GLP-1R arm), waist reduction (GCGR arm), and tolerability profile. The current 16-week Phase 1 Part 3 titration study is designed to optimize higher-dose levels and tolerability with full data expected Q4 2026. The EASL poster extends the early-phase MASH biomarker package and supports the planned Phase 2 advancement.
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals presented Phase 1/2a interim clinical data on ARO-INHBE at EASL 2026 today (Rinki Murphy, MBChB, PhD presenting). ARO-INHBE is an RNAi therapeutic targeting the Activin E/ALK7 pathway — a genetically validated regulator of adipose fat storage. The data: a single 400 mg dose produced 85.3% mean maximum Activin E reduction with persistent effect beyond 3 months; ≥200 mg doses reduced liver fat 44%. In combination with low-dose tirzepatide 5 mg in obese patients with type 2 diabetes, ARO-INHBE doubled weight loss and tripled reductions in visceral fat, total fat, and liver fat versus tirzepatide alone. Effect persists through Week 24 supporting potential twice-yearly dosing. Arrowhead is engaging with regulatory authorities on Phase 2 designs in MASH and obesity. The combination data is the strongest evidence to date that adding a non-GLP-1 mechanism to incretin therapy can meaningfully amplify body-composition outcomes — a contrast to the GLP-1-alone monotherapy story that has dominated obesity-pharmacology since 2021.
Novo Nordisk presented two ESSENCE Phase 3 subgroup analyses at EASL 2026 today. The Japanese MASH subgroup analysis extends the semaglutide 2.4 mg efficacy and safety case to Asian populations where MASLD and MASH develop at lower body-mass-index thresholds and involve distinct metabolic risk profiles. The Menopause subgroup analysis covers women in menopause, where hormonal changes accelerate liver disease progression and metabolic deterioration. Both analyses show consistent hepatic safety profile and efficacy across the underrepresented groups. The August 2025 FDA MASH-with-fibrosis approval of semaglutide 2.4 mg was based on the broader ESSENCE Phase 3 cohort; the EASL Day 1 presentations strengthen the global labeling case across non-Western populations and the menopausal-women subgroup that has historically been underrepresented in MASH clinical trials. Real-world evidence data presented today documents quality-of-life impairment and healthcare-cost escalation in MASH patients.
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals delivered eight Rezdiffra (resmetirom) poster presentations at EASL 2026 today. Key data: secondary analysis of MAESTRO-NASH and MAESTRO-NAFLD-1 documented Rezdiffra-driven improvements in cardiovascular lipid risk markers (Lp(a), LDL-C, ApoB); a two-year analysis in patients with compensated MASH cirrhosis (F4c) showed meaningful improvement in ANTICIPATE-NASH risk scores, a validated marker for clinically significant portal hypertension. Real-world effectiveness analyses and noninvasive biomarker plus machine-learning models for predicting MASH and fibrosis improvement rounded out the presentation slate. Rezdiffra (resmetirom) — a thyroid hormone receptor β agonist small molecule, not a peptide — was approved March 2024 as the first FDA-approved MASH therapy for noncirrhotic MASH with F2-F3 fibrosis. The compensated MASH cirrhosis (F4c) data extend the case toward an indication where the GLP-1/glucagon peptide programs (pemvidutide IMPACT, survodutide SYNCHRONIZE-1, retatrutide MASLD Phase 3) are also competing.
Galectin Therapeutics announced oral and poster presentations today at EASL 2026 covering new analyses from the global Phase 3 NAVIGATE trial of belapectin in advanced MASH cirrhosis. Belapectin is a galectin-3 inhibitor (a carbohydrate-based, not strictly peptide, therapeutic) developed for compensated MASH cirrhosis — the indication that current FDA-approved MASH therapies (Madrigal's Rezdiffra, August 2025-approved semaglutide) do not yet directly address. The NAVIGATE trial is designed to demonstrate disease-modification potential in compensated MASH cirrhosis (F4c) — the patient population at highest risk of progression to decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The Galectin data sits alongside Madrigal's parallel EASL data on Rezdiffra cardiovascular and portal-hypertension markers from MAESTRO-NASH/MAESTRO-NAFLD-1 secondary analyses, completing the non-peptide MASH-treatment context for the GLP-1/glucagon peptide programs at the meeting.
Sagimet Biosciences presented two posters at EASL 2026 today on the combination of its denifanstat (FASN inhibitor small molecule) with Madrigal's Rezdiffra (resmetirom, thyroid hormone receptor β agonist) for MASH. The combination work tests whether layered MASH therapies producing complementary mechanism-of-action effects can outperform either monotherapy. Denifanstat inhibits fatty acid synthase — the enzyme producing the majority of newly synthesized fatty acids in the liver — reducing hepatic lipogenesis upstream of the inflammation and fibrosis cascade that resmetirom addresses through downstream thyroid-hormone-receptor mechanisms. The combination represents the broader trend of MASH-as-multi-mechanism-battleground that defines EASL 2026: GLP-1/glucagon peptides (pemvidutide, DA-1726, survodutide), RNAi (ARO-INHBE), thyroid hormone agonism (Rezdiffra), FASN inhibition (denifanstat), and galectin-3 inhibition (belapectin) all running parallel programs.