Conatus' emricasan misses in Phase IIb for NASH cirrhosis

Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:CNAT) said all three doses of emricasan missed the primary endpoint of improving mean hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) from baseline to week 24 vs. placebo in the Phase IIb ENCORE-PH trial to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

The double-blind, international trial enrolled 263 patients with compensated or early decompensated liver cirrhosis and severe portal hypertension to receive placebo or twice-daily 5, 25 or 50 mg oral emricasan for 24 weeks. Data from a six-month extension of ENCORE-PH are expected in mid-2019...