Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
ICPT (Intercept) today announced results from a preclinical study
demonstrating the potential protective effects of the Company's lead product
candidate obeticholic acid (OCA) in an experimental model of liver disease.
The study was presented orally during the opening session of the International
Liver Congress™ 2014, the 49th Annual Meeting of the European Association for
the Study of the Liver (EASL) in London. The study has also been selected as
the best oral abstract in Basic Science at ILC 2014.
In the study, OCA administration was shown to have protective effects on
bacterial translocation from the ileum in an experimental rat model of
cholestasis. The six animals receiving OCA treatment experienced significant
reduction of bacteria in mesenteric lymph nodes and all but one of these
remained free from bacterial infection in the abdominal cavity. In contrast,
all six animals in the control group developed an abdominal infection. OCA
treatment was additionally associated with normalized intestinal permeability,
along with reduced inflammation of the lymph nodes and spleen.
This study is the first to show OCA treatment limits bacterial translocation
from the small intestine. In patients with liver cirrhosis, this phenomenon
manifests as spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, an acute infection in the
abdominal cavity that results in high rates of sepsis and mortality.
"This study provides additional insight into the protective role of FXR in the
gut-liver axis with potentially promising implications for the treatment of
patients with advanced liver disease because bacterial translocation is known
to be a key contributing factor in the pathogenesis and complications of
cirrhosis," said Wim Laleman, M.D. Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Liver
and Biliopancreatic Disorders, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, K.U. Leuven,
Leuven, Belgium. "When coupled with the clinical results for OCA in PBC and
NASH, I believe these data demonstrate that FXR agonism has considerable
potential in the treatment of patients with a broad spectrum of liver
disease."
"This study's selection as part of the opening session and as best oral
abstract in Basic Science at EASL shows that there is growing interest among
hepatologists in FXR and its hepatoprotective properties," said David Shapiro,
M.D., chief medical officer of Intercept. "We believe that this new layer of
understanding of OCA's mechanism of action and potential therapeutic effects
in cirrhosis complements the clinical data we have reported in cirrhotic
patients with alcoholic liver disease."
Several additional OCA presentations will occur at ILC 2014. Among the
highlights is a late breaker presentation of results from the POISE clinical
trial, the first Phase 3 trial in PBC in two decades. Intercept will be
exhibiting at booth #715 throughout ILC 2014.
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Loading...
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
Join Now: Free!
Already a member?Sign in