After two years of talks, privately held Ventus Therapeutics Inc. and Novo Nordisk A/S have signed an exclusive worldwide license deal to commercialize candidates from Ventus’ portfolio of peripherally restricted NLR pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inhibitors. Along with Roche Holding AG’s September 2020 acquisition of Inflazome Ltd. and Novartis AG’s buyout of subsidiary IFM Tre in April 2019, this is another step by big players to get into the NLRP3 space.
Altimmune Inc. has come under scrutiny from investors after weight loss data from a phase Ib trial of its nonalcoholic fatty liver disease drug, pemvidutide, sent its shares on a roller coaster ride.
Shares in Akero Therapeutics Inc. more than doubled in value after the company announced results from a phase IIb nonalcoholic steatohepatitis trial that it believes show lead candidate efruxifermin could challenge other candidates in development for the fatty liver disease targeted by so many biotechs and big pharmas.
China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has cleared CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited to conduct clinical trials of TG-103 injection for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Researchers from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG presented preclinical data for BI-456906, a novel long-acting glucagon (GCG)/glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) dual receptor agonist, currently in phase II development in patients with obesity and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
A new assay developed by Metadeq Inc. may be bringing the days of the invasive liver biopsy for non-malignant conditions to a close. The company’s liquid biopsy successfully used the presence of two proteins in blood to identify and stage non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and liver fibrosis in a study published in Gut.
More than two years after the U.S. FDA shocked Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. with its rejection of obeticholic acid to treat fibrosis due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the company has announced data it said will form the basis of a NDA refile in the disease for which there is no approved therapy.
New data confirming that Gilead Sciences Inc.’s Hepcludex (bulevirtide) effectively cures hepatitis delta virus (hepatitis D), one of the most severe viral infections of the liver, and favorable phase III results from Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) contender were among the highest-profile scientific announcements at the International Liver Congress (ILC) 2022.
Glympse Bio Inc.’s diagnostic platform has demonstrated the ability to detect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in blood, offering a non-invasive method for diagnosing the disease much earlier and more reliably than current approaches. The platform uses biosensors and machine learning to measure protease activity in plasma samples. Details of studies demonstrating the system’s accuracy in HCC will be presented at the International Liver Conference 2022 in London.
Intent on expanding both the reach and approved uses of its farnesoid X receptor agonist, Ocaliva (obeticholic acid), Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. is selling both its ex-U.S. operations and rights to the primary biliary cholangitis drug to U.K.-based Advanz Pharma Corp. Ltd. for $405 million up front. The deal, including an additional $45 million earnout tied to EU regulatory advances, represents an important step toward strengthening Intercept's balance sheet and options, said CEO and President Jerry Durso.
