Could High Profile Combo Be Allergan/Novartis Answer To Late-Stage NASH Programs?

Novartis is teaming up with Allergan in a bid to get a treatment on the market for the fatty liver disease NASH, which currently has no approved treatments. The decision by Novartis to test its lead FXR agonist with Allergan's cenicriviroc (CVC) is interesting because Allergan's product reported mixed Phase II data.

Liver anatomy

Novartis AG and Allergan PLC, which are individually pursuing the potentially lucrative non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) market ‒ forecast to be worth over $1bn annually ‒ have decided to join forces and test two products in combination. They have entered a clinical trial agreement to conduct a Phase IIb study of Novartis's lead farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist LJN452 with Allergan's cenicriviroc (CVC).

Novartis has been developing FXR agonists in-house, and its most advanced compound is the non-bile acid FXR agonist LJN452, which recently received fast track designation from the FDA and is in a Phase II trial

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