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FDA Grants Conatus Orphan Drug Designation for PSC Treatment

Conatus Pharmaceuticals received an orphan drug designation from the FDA for its candidate IDN-7314 for the treatment of primary sclerosing cholangitis, according to a press release.

“There are no curative or disease-modifying treatments for PSC itself. Continued progression over time ultimately leads to liver transplant or liver failure,” Steven J. Mento, PhD, Conatus co-founder, president and CEO, said in the release. “For Conatus, the orphan drug designation provides a potential opportunity to address an important unmet medical need and expand the company’s drug development pipeline beyond emricasan. We will continue to evaluate this opportunity along with others as we advance toward announcement of our initial pipeline plans later in 2017.”

According to the release, IDN-7314 is an orally active pan-caspase protease inhibitor designed to reduce the activity of enzymes that mediate inflammation and cell death. The drug candidate significantly improved biochemical indices of hepatic and biliary damage in two preclinical models of PSC.

Reference: www.conatuspharma.com