Conatus Pharma shares surge 50% on positive emricasan trial results

Shares in Conatus Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CNAT) leapt more than 50% on news that a Phase II study of emricasan in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, including a subset with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, met its primary endpoint.

Results showed that the orally active pan-caspase protease inhibitor significantly reduced alanine aminotransferase, versus placebo. Patients were randomized to treatment with emricasan or placebo, and after 28 days of treatment, patients treated with emricasan displayed a 39% reduction in alanine aminotransferase, compared to 14% in placebo. These reductions were in line with those observed in previous trials.

Emricasan also significantly reduced elevated baseline levels of the three key serum biomarkers of caspase-cleaved cytokeratin 18, full length cytokeratin 18 and caspases 3 and 7 at day 28.