Conatus falls as emricasan misses in liver transplant patients

Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:CNAT) fell $1.89 (31%) to $4.12 on Thursday after reporting that emricasan missed the primary endpoint of improving fibrosis in the Phase IIb POLT-HCV-SVR trial in post-orthotopic liver transplant recipients with fibrosis or cirrhosis.

The trial enrolled 51 patients whose transplanted livers were damaged by recurrent HCV infection. The patients subsequently achieved a sustained virologic response (SVR) following HCV therapy, but their transplanted livers had residual fibrosis or cirrhosis...