Akero Therapeutics Appoints Yuan Xu to its Board of Directors

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKRO), a cardio-metabolic biotechnology company developing transformational treatments for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), today announced the appointment of Yuan Xu, Ph.D., to its board of directors as an independent director.

"Dr. Xu’s extensive experience in establishing and leading biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing capabilities brings a complementary perspective to our Board,” said Andrew Cheng, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Akero Therapeutics. "The Akero leadership team looks forward to working with Dr. Xu as we enter late-stage development of our lead NASH candidate efruxifermin.”

Yuan Xu, Ph.D., has a long-standing track record of executive and scientific leadership in biopharmaceutical research, development, manufacturing, commercialization and life-cycle management. Most recently, she served as a board member and chief executive officer for Legend Biotech Co., playing a leading role in its successful IPO. Dr. Xu’s prior career as a senior executive includes heading up Merck’s Biologics & Vaccines subdivision, as well leading biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing groups for Novartis, Gilead and GlaxoSmithKline. Dr. Xu received a B.S. in biochemistry from Nanjing University and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Maryland, and she completed her post-doctoral training in virology and gene therapy at the University of California, San Diego.

"Akero is developing an exciting novel therapy engineered to reproduce the benefits of native FGF21, with encouraging biopsy data indicating potential for rapid reversal of NASH," said Dr. Xu. "I look forward to furthering Akero’s efforts to make this highly-differentiated, potentially best-in-class medicine, if approved, available to millions of patients around the world.”

About Akero Therapeutics

Akero Therapeutics is a clinical-stage cardio-metabolic company developing transformational treatments for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a disease without any approved therapies. Akero's lead product candidate, efruxifermin (EFX), an engineered Fc-FGF21 fusion protein, is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2b clinical trial (the HARMONY study) as a potential treatment for NASH. Akero is headquartered in South San Francisco. Visit the company at www.akerotx.com for more information.