Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has been informed by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health that patient enrollment has started in a new clinical trial in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which will evaluate Intercept's first-in-class farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist obeticholic acid (OCA) as a novel therapy for NASH. The FXR Ligand NASH Treatment (FLINT) trial is a double blind, placebo controlled, multi-center clinical study that will evaluate the effects of OCA compared with placebo in adult NASH patients.
NASH is a more serious form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and occurs in patients who drink little or no alcohol. The disease is believed to be caused by abnormal metabolism of fats and, although it is often associated with obesity and insulin resistance, it also occurs in lean individuals. NASH is associated with fibrosis (scarring) in the liver that may lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and death, and the disease also carries an additional mortality risk due to heart disease. NASH is now the most common liver disease in the developed world, affecting at least 3-5% of the U.S. population and up to 50% of patients with morbid obesity. There is currently no approved treatment for the disease.