Novartis has notified Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of its exercise of the option to an exclusive license for the global development and commercialization of emricasan, under the option, collaboration and license agreement signed with Conatus last December.
 The exercise of the option with Conatus, a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel medicines to treat liver disease, and grant of exclusive license to Novartis will be effective upon receipt of all required anti-trust approvals and payment of USD 7 million option exercise fee to Conatus.

This collaboration has the potential to expand treatment options for people in various stages of fatty liver disease, where no approved medicines currently exist.

“We are pleased to add another important medicine to our liver portfolio with emricasan, which has shown potential in patients with advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis,” said Vas Narasimhan, Global Head, Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis. “We look forward to advancing our broad portfolio of NASH and chronic liver disease programs to address this growing unmet need.”

The FDA has granted Fast Track designation for the development of emricasan in patients with NASH cirrhosis.

Source: Reuters