SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKRO), a clinical-stage company developing transformational treatments for patients with serious metabolic diseases marked by high unmet medical need, today announced two financing transactions. The first is a $25 million equity investment by Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) at $9.90 per share. The second is a term loan facility providing Akero with access to up to $100 million from Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC), of which $10 million will be drawn at transaction close. Together with existing cash, proceeds will support Akero’s continued development of efruxifermin (EFX), a long-acting analog of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), including two ongoing Phase 2b clinical trials in patients with pre-cirrhotic and cirrhotic nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH); manufacture of a drug product-device combination for use in Phase 3 clinical trials; and starting a Phase 3 clinical trial program. If the term loan is fully drawn, proceeds from these two transactions together with budget optimization efforts are expected to fund Akero’s current operating plan until the third quarter of 2024. This extends Akero’s previously announced cash guidance by a full year (from the third quarter of 2023 to the third quarter of 2024), two years beyond the anticipated readout of the HARMONY study in the third quarter of this year.