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

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...