Gilead, Novo Nordisk push NASH cocktail deeper into the clinic

After being encouraged by some early readouts, Gilead Sciences and Novo Nordisk are doubling down on their fatty liver R&D pact by kick-starting a midstage nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) combo trial later this year.

Two years ago, Gilead revealed new midstage data about its combo of FXR agonist cilofexor and investigational ACC inhibitor firsocostat (which came out of biotech buys Phenex and Nimbus, respectively) that showed in 20 patients it could reduce liver fat by 74%, albeit with several grade 3 adverse events.