Novartis enters exclusive deal to develop new oral treatments for chronic liver diseases

20 December 2016

Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX) today announced the signing of an exclusive option, collaboration and license agreement focused on the development of novel medicines to treat liver disease.

This agreement, with US biotech firm Conatus Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CNAT), will enable the companies to jointly develop emricasan, which is under development by Conatus. News of the deal pushed Conatus’ shares up 124.5% to $4.40 in after-hours trading on Monday, with the stock having risen as high as $5.90.

Emricasan is an investigational, first-in-class, oral, pan-caspase inhibitor for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with advanced fibrosis (scarring) and cirrhosis. This collaboration has the potential to expand treatment options for people in various stages of fatty liver disease, where no approved medicines currently exist.

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