Novartis Sees Pliant’s NASH Program Offering Pathway To Treating Sickest Patients

Novartis AG has been active in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) development and deal-making in recent years, but its $80m upfront commitment to Pliant Therapeutics for a preclinical alpha V beta 1 integrin inhibitor still caught attention last October. In an interview, executives from both companies explained that PLN-1474 and potential follow-on integrin inhibitors may help Novartis develop a therapy for the sickest NASH patients, those with cirrhosis.

Then-privately held Pliant had multiple suitors for its preclinical integrin inhibitor program after presenting data showing antifibrotic properties for its molecules from testing in liver samples of late-stage NASH patients, including cirrhotic patients, at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases meeting in 2018. In October 2019, Novartis signed on to a deal bringing Pliant $80m divided between upfront cash and the pharma taking an undisclosed equity stake in the smaller company, in exchange for rights to PLN-1474 and compounds against three additional integrin targets