Gastrointestinal

Cymabay’s PPAR-delta dawn darkens; seladelpar bound for NASH mansion in sky?

November 25, 2019

Due to the “dynamic nature of the situation,” officials of Cymabay Therapeutics Inc. declined to comment on the stoppage of work with PPAR-delta agonist seladelpar, but in a press release they pointed to “a series of investigative actions [that have begun in order] to better understand these findings.”

AASLD 2019

Bacteriophage 'cocktails' can be good for the liver

November 14, 2019

By Anette Breindl

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BOSTON – Researchers presented data at The Liver Meeting 2019 and in Nature this week demonstrating that bacteriophages targeted to specific members of the microbiome could be useful in fighting two different liver diseases.

AASLD 2019

DUR-928 results: Break out the sparkling cider

November 13, 2019

By Anette Breindl

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BOSTON – In a late-breaking oral presentation on the last day of The Liver Meeting 2019, Durect Corp. reported results from its phase IIa trial of DUR-928 for the treatment of alcoholic hepatitis. All 19 patients enrolled in the study survived for 28 days after treatment with DUR-928 , and all but two responded to the drug as measured by Lille scores, which is used for predicting risk of death.

AASLD 2019

With NASH drugs on the cusp of arrival, noninvasive diagnostics are 'second pillar of need'

November 12, 2019

By Anette Breindl

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BOSTON – For diagnosing nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), liver biopsy is "the reference standard," Dean Hum, president of Genfit Corp., told BioWorld. "I'm not going to call it the gold standard." Some of the reasons for denying biopsies a gold sticker are obvious. Biopsies are invasive, which makes them risky, expensive and loathed by patients and doctors alike. "In the real world, doctors don't always do biopsies – many say they very rarely do biopsies unless other data points in several directions and they need that for clarity," Gail Cawkwell told BioWorld.

Ardelyx nabs FDA approval for Ibsrela in IBS-C

September 13, 2019

By Jennifer Boggs

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It's been a busy September for Ardelyx Inc. so far. Less than two weeks after the Fremont, Calif-based company reported promising pivotal data for tenapanor in chronic kidney disease patients with hyperphosphatemia, the sodium hydrogen exchanger 2 (NHE3) inhibitor won FDA approval for use in irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C).

Altimmune acquires Velocity's Spitfire and its NASH candidate

July 10, 2019

By Lee Landenberger

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Altimmune Inc. will acquire Spitfire Pharma Inc. and its lead candidate, SP-1373 (to be renamed ALT-801), a GLP-1/glucagon receptor co-agonist for treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Boehringer, Yuhan team up in $870M NASH alliance

July 2, 2019

By Lee Landenberger

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Korea's largest pharmaceutical company, Yuhan Corp., and German giant Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH (BI) have signed a collaboration and license agreement to develop a first-in-class dual agonist to treat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and related liver diseases, following a similar path trod by other companies.