Intercept Pharmaceuticals announced it received a CRL from FDA regarding the obeticholic acid (OCA) NDA for the treatment of pre-cirrhotic liver fibrosis due to NASH. According to the press release, FDA indicated in the CRL that any resubmission of an NDA for OCA in NASH would require, at minimum, successful completion of the long-term outcomes phase of the REGENERATE study (view CT.gov record). As a result of the CRL, Intercept has decided to discontinue all NASH-related investment and restructure the company’s operations to strengthen its focus on rare and serious liver diseases. Below, FENIX provides brief thoughts on the CRL and Intercept’s decision.

Briefing documents have been posted (view here) for FDA’s Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee (GIDAC) meeting to discuss the use of Intercept’s obeticholic acid (OCA) for the treatment of pre-cirrhotic liver fibrosis due to NASH. For context, the OCA adcom is on Friday, May 19, 2023 (previous FENIX insight). Recall, in January 2023, FDA accepted the NDA for OCA seeking accelerated approval as a Class 2 resubmission and assigned a PDUFA date of June 22, 2023 (previous FENIX insight). Of note, Intercept’s stock price decreased as much as -22% in intraday trading following the release of the briefing documents. Below, FENIX provides insight into the potential outcome of the OCA FDA adcom.