Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a disease that affects various patients with fatty livers in the absence of significant alcohol consumption. NAFLD is a disease progresses from the simple fatty liver (Steatosis), Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, and cirrhosis. There is no effective drug to date, but many pharmaceutical companies are working hard to develop an effective therapeutic agent. Since it becomes more difficult to treat the disease after the onset of fibrosis, the therapeutic target should be at steatosis or NASH. With regards to NASH, although fibrosis exists in more than 80% of patients, it can be defined by a rate of hepatic steatosis in excess of 5% and inflammation, along with damage in liver cells, regardless of fibrosis.

NASH is a disease that carries a significant clinical burden due to the high death rate associated with the liver.
Moreover, in cases where it has progressed significantly, NASH patients are at high risk of loss of liver function, terminal liver disease, and hepatocirrhosis, which is highly related to liver cancer.
According to research, the extent of liver cell inflammation and lipophagy is inversely proportional to the blood concentration of adiponectin, and if the function of adiponectin is restored, NASH can be prevented and cured through reduced accumulation of free fatty acid and anti-inflammation reaction by improving insulin resistance.

BHD1028 is effective in treating NASH with a mechanism of action that prevents fatty liver production and suppresses inflammation by improving insulin resistance through adiponectin receptors, oxidation of free fatty acids, and weight loss.

Development of existing NASH therapeutics has been carried out in terms of anti-inflammation action or hindering fatty liver production, but no drugs have been approved yet.
BHD1028 has the advantage of fundamentally treating metabolic syndrome by promoting the oxidation of fatty acid and improving insulin resistance with the activation of the AMPK/ACC signal delivery system. Furthermore, it can simultaneously suppress fibrosis of liver cells with anti-inflammatory action through various channels.
Therefore, BHD1028 can be developed as an innovative first-in-class therapeutic with a groundbreaking action mechanism that simultaneously prevents the complex causes of NASH.