July 29, 2008 - Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for the treatment of chronic fibrotic and metabolic diseases, announced the completion of a $25 million equity financing by Genextra S.p.A. This financing was in lieu of the previously contemplated $20.5 million second tranche investment under the Genextra-led $41 million financing announced in May 2006.Mark Pruzanski, M.D., Intercept's founder, President and CEO, commented, "This financing is recognition of the progress we have made with our lead compound INT-747, as well as recent exciting milestones achieved in our preclinical programs. Genextra's strong backing will enable us to complete our Phase II clinical trials while continuing to advance our pipeline of internally discovered novel FXR and TGR5 agonists."
Patient enrollment is well underway in three Phase II clinical trials of INT-747, Intercept's first-in-class farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist. The clinical program of INT-747 consists of two studies in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), a chronic autoimmune liver disease, and a third study in Type 2 diabetic patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). INT-747 has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for the treatment of PBC... [PDF] Intercept Pharmaceuticals' Press Release -
