Intercept Fades as Goldman Calls NASH Data a Disappointment
Intercept NASH Presentation Was a Disappointment, Goldman Says
(Bloomberg) -- Intercept Pharmaceuticals may be paving the way for what will likely be the first treatment in a potential multi-billion dollar market to treat the fatty liver disease known as NASH, but doctors and investors at a key conference last week were disappointed by the company’s presentation, a Goldman Sachs analyst said.
Two liver doctors at the European Association for the Study of the Liver congress in Vienna last week wanted to see a more rigorous analysis of all the patients that started in Intercept’s “Regenerate” study of its drug OCA -- or Ocaliva as it’s sold for a different disease -- and predict limited commercial potential, Goldman analyst Salveen Richter wrote in a note to clients.
Intercept shares have dropped 23 percent over the past three trading sessions since Intercept’s presentation last week. Shares are about unchanged as of 11:22 a.m. Doctors were more enthusiastic around an earlier stage drug -- Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ MGL-3196 -- according to Goldman. The bank rates Intercept a buy and Madrigal neutral.
Goldman helped Madrigal raise cash in an offering in December.
To contact the reporter on this story: Cristin Flanagan in New York at cflanagan1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Scott Schnipper
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