Novartis has announced positive data for its NASH candidate tropifexor, building the case for the drug as it races for the coveted first-to-market label for the disease.
ZURICH/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Novartis AG and Pfizer Inc are teaming up to develop treatments for a liver disease many drug companies believe will become a hugely lucrative market, as it is tied to the obesity and diabetes epidemics.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) announced today that it has entered into a non-exclusive clinical development agreement with Novartis (NYSE: NVS) to investigate one or more combination therapies for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The companies will conduct both non-clinical and Phase 1 clinical studies of Pfizer’s investigational therapies, including an Acetyl CoA-Carboxylase (ACC) Inhibitor (PF-05221304, currently in Phase 2), a Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2) Inhibitor (PF-06865571, Phase 1) and a Ketohexokinase (KHK) Inhibitor (PF-06835919, Phase 2), together with Novartis’s tropifexor, a non-bile acid, Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist.