CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDGL), a biopharmaceutical company focused on delivering novel therapeutics for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), today announced that Rebecca Taub, M.D., the company's founder, Chief Medical Officer, and President of Research & Development (R&D), will transition to the role of Senior Scientific and Medical Advisor. Dr. Taub will continue to serve on Madrigal's Board of Directors. Succeeding her, David Soergel, M.D., has been appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, effective April 21, 2025.

After teaching Genetics and Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, where she was one of the youngest women at that time to become a fully tenured Professor, Dr. Taub moved into senior R&D leadership roles at Bristol Myers Squibb and Roche. In 2011, she co-founded Madrigal with a vision to address unmet medical needs for patients with serious liver and cardiometabolic diseases. Under her leadership, the company achieved an unprecedented milestone – the development of the first FDA-approved medicine for the treatment of MASH, Rezdiffra™ (resmetirom).

"Becky's visionary leadership and relentless commitment have been instrumental in Madrigal's success and the success of the MASH field," said Bill Sibold, Chief Executive Officer of Madrigal. "Her pioneering work as both a scientist and entrepreneur led to the development and approval of Rezdiffra – the first-ever FDA-approved medicine for MASH – bringing real hope to patients who previously had no options. We are incredibly grateful for her contributions and are fortunate to have her continued guidance as a strategic advisor and Madrigal board member. Becky represents the best of what our industry is capable of, and I hope her story will serve as an inspiration for people beginning their careers in biopharma."

“As Becky moves into her new role, we’re thrilled to welcome David Soergel to Madrigal,” said Sibold. “Dave brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in metabolic and cardiovascular disease drug development, spanning both biotech and large pharma. As we look to build a pipeline beyond Rezdiffra, Dave’s deep clinical development expertise and strong track record of advancing therapies across multiple therapeutic areas is exactly the kind of experience that aligns with where we’re taking the company.”

“I’d like to thank my colleagues, our research partners, and the many patients in the MASH community who have made invaluable contributions to Madrigal’s success,” said Dr. Taub. “What started as a small team of fewer than 10 R&D professionals in Conshohocken, PA is now a commercial-stage biopharma company with more than five hundred employees across the U.S. and Europe. I look forward to supporting Dave in my role as a scientific and medical advisor as Madrigal enters its next phase.”

Dr. Soergel joins Madrigal from Novartis, where he served as the Executive Vice President and Global Head of Cardiovascular, Renal, and Metabolism Development, overseeing 10 late-stage development programs in 2024. At Novartis, Dave led teams that designed and implemented evidence generation programs supporting the expansion of Entresto’s indications and uses. Additionally, he advanced novel medicines to approval for cardiovascular and renal diseases, including Leqvio, Fabhalta and Vanrafia, and served as the development lead for the acquisitions of the Medicines Company and Chinook Therapeutics. Prior to Novartis, Dr. Soergel held leadership roles at biotechnology companies, including Senior Vice President of Clinical Development and Chief Medical Officer at Trevena, where he was responsible for the development of novel treatments for pain and other conditions. He began his career in early-stage clinical development and translational medicine at GlaxoSmithKline. Dr. Soergel trained in pediatrics, pediatric cardiology, and heart failure and transplant at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

“It is a great privilege to be succeeding Becky as Chief Medical Officer and I look forward to tapping into her expertise and guidance as I begin my new role at Madrigal,” said Dr. Soergel. “I’m excited to be joining an R&D team that delivered the first approved therapy in a disease that has been a major challenge for drug development. With two fully enrolled outcomes studies of Rezdiffra underway, Madrigal is at the forefront of scientific innovation in MASH, and the company is well-positioned to build on its leadership position through pipeline expansion.”

About Madrigal Pharmaceuticals
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDGL) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on delivering novel therapeutics for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a liver disease with high unmet medical need. Madrigal’s medication, Rezdiffra (resmetirom), is a once-daily, oral, liver-directed THR-β agonist designed to target key underlying causes of MASH. Rezdiffra is the first and only medication approved by the FDA for the treatment of MASH with moderate to advanced fibrosis (consistent with stages F2 to F3). An ongoing Phase 3 outcomes trial is evaluating Rezdiffra for the treatment of compensated MASH cirrhosis (consistent with stage F4c). For more information, visit www.madrigalpharma.com .

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including statements related to Madrigal’s plans to expand its pipeline. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to: the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements; Madrigal’s ability to enter into any strategic transactions to expand its pipeline and its ability to complete any such transactions; risks of obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals, including, but not limited to, potential regulatory delays or rejections; the challenges with the commercial launch of a new product, particularly for a company that does not have commercial experience; our history of operating losses and the possibility that we may never achieve or maintain profitability; risks associated with meeting the objectives of Madrigal’s clinical trials, including, but not limited to Madrigal’s ability to achieve enrollment objectives concerning patient numbers (including an adequate safety database), outcomes objectives and/or timing objectives for Madrigal’s trials; any delays or failures in enrollment, and the occurrence of adverse safety events; risks related to the effects of Rezdiffra’s (resmetirom’s) mechanism of action; enrollment and trial conclusion uncertainties; market demand for and acceptance of Rezdiffra; the potential inability to raise sufficient capital to fund ongoing operations as currently planned or to obtain financing on acceptable terms; our ability to service indebtedness and otherwise comply with debt covenants; outcomes or trends from competitive trials; future topline data timing or results; our ability to prevent and/or mitigate cyber-attacks; the uncertainties inherent in clinical testing; uncertainties concerning analyses or assessments outside of a controlled clinical trial; and changes in laws and regulations applicable to our business and our ability to comply with such laws and regulations. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Madrigal undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events, or circumstances after the date they are made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Please refer to Madrigal’s submissions filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission(“SEC”), for more detailed information regarding these risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Madrigal specifically discusses these risks and uncertainties in greater detail in the sections appearing in Part I, Item 1A of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on February 26, 2025, and as updated from time to time by Madrigal’s other filings with the SEC.

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