Galectin Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:GALT) shares were down 4.88% to $2.73 on Friday and flat in after-hours trading. The company has a market cap of $76.04 million at 29.28 million shares outstanding. Share prices have been trading in a 52-week range of $1.08 to $3.25.

Galectin Therapeutics Inc is  a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in drug research and development to create therapies for fibrotic disease and cancer. Its  drug candidates are based on its method of targeting galectin proteins, which are mediators of biologic and pathologic functions. It uses naturally occurring, readily-available plant materials as starting material in manufacturing processes to create complex carbohydrates with specific molecular weights and other pharmaceutical properties.

In particular, Galectin Therapeutics Inc has two product candidates:  GR-MD-02 and GM-CT-01. GR-MD-02 is a galectin-3 inhibitor that is intended to be used in the treatment of liver fibrosis associated with fatty liver diseasemoderate to severe plaque psoriasis and in cancer therapy in combination with immune-system modifying agents. GM-CT-01 is a compound that continues to be explored in preclinical studies.

So far, there are no approved products for the treatment of fibrosis caused by non-alcoholic steatohepatitis but GR-MD-02 has a Fast Track designation from the Food and Drug Administration. News from this industry has shown that Allergan has acquired Tobira Therapeutics, which is another company working on the same treatment, thereby reviving the attention in the clinical trials of these products.

Galectin Therapeutics Inc is confident that its candidate can effect enough change in 112 days and has two more attempts scheduled in the next twelve months.GR-MD-02 is being investigated in combination with the checkpoint inhibitors Yervoy and Keytruda in separate Phase 1b trials in patients with advanced metastatic melanoma. Providence Portland Cancer Center is funding these studies and has noted that data from Yervoy should be available before the end of the year.

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