Intercept Company Statement on Analyst Note
Intercept Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:ICPT) announced that an analyst's note on the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System regarding a newly identified safety signal (NISS) for Ocaliva® (obeticholic acid) was deemed incorrect by the company. Intercept emphasizes that the absence of a listed medicine in the FDA's updates does not indicate the completion of its evaluation. Ongoing discussions with the FDA aim to clarify the NISS, which is classified as a potential risk but does not imply a causal relationship with Ocaliva. The FDA's review focuses on advanced Primary Biliary Cholangitis patients taking Ocaliva.
- Ongoing dialogue with the FDA may clarify safety concerns regarding Ocaliva.
- The FDA classified the identified risk as the lowest level of risk.
- Potential safety signal could impact physicians' prescribing habits.
- The ongoing evaluation may delay further market acceptance of Ocaliva.
NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ICPT), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to treat progressive non-viral liver diseases, today announced that an analyst note commenting on the listing of Intercept’s product on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) website reached a conclusion regarding the status of a newly identified safety signal (NISS) for Ocaliva® (obeticholic acid) that the Company believes is incorrect.
The FDA provides quarterly information on newly identified safety signals. The Company does not believe that the absence of a listed medicine that was in one quarterly update in a subsequent quarter necessarily indicates that the FDA has completed its evaluation of the NISS.
As Intercept has previously communicated, the Company has submitted a comprehensive safety assessment to the FDA and the dialogue with the FDA regarding the Agency’s evaluation of the NISS for Ocaliva remains ongoing.
As the Company has also previously stated, the FDA notified Intercept in May 2020 that, in the course of its routine safety surveillance of postmarketing data, the FDA began to evaluate a NISS regarding liver disorder for Ocaliva which the FDA classified as a potential risk, the lowest level of risk. Pursuant to the FDA’s guidance, this does not mean that the FDA has concluded that the drug has the listed risk or that the FDA has identified a causal relationship between Ocaliva and the potential risk. The FDA has informed the Company that the FDA’s review of the NISS is focused on a subset of the cirrhotic, or more advanced, PBC patients who have taken Ocaliva.
About Intercept
Intercept is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to treat progressive non-viral liver diseases, including primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Founded in 2002 in New York, Intercept has operations in the United States, Europe and Canada. For more information, please visit www.interceptpharma.com or connect with the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the progress, timing and results of our clinical trials, including the timeline or outcome of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) evaluation of the newly identified safety signal, our clinical trials for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (“NASH”), the safety and efficacy of our approved product, Ocaliva (obeticholic acid or “OCA”) for primary biliary cholangitis (“PBC”), and our product candidates, including OCA for liver fibrosis due to NASH, the timing and acceptance of our regulatory filings and the potential approval of OCA for liver fibrosis due to NASH, the review of our New Drug Application for OCA for the treatment of liver fibrosis due to NASH by the FDA, our intent to work with the FDA to address the issues raised in the complete response letter (CRL), the potential commercial success of OCA, as well as our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenue, projected costs, financial guidance, prospects, plans and objectives. These statements constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “potential,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “possible,” “continue” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement except as required by law. These forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions by our management that, although believed to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain and subject to a number of risks. The following represent some, but not necessarily all, of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated or predicted by our forward-looking statements: our ability to successfully commercialize Ocaliva for PBC; our ability to maintain our regulatory approval of Ocaliva for PBC in the United States, Europe, Canada, Israel, Australia and other jurisdictions in which we have or may receive marketing authorization; our ability to timely and cost-effectively file for and obtain regulatory approval of our product candidates on an accelerated basis or at all, including OCA for liver fibrosis due to NASH following the issuance of the CRL by the FDA; any advisory committee recommendation or dispute resolution determination that our product candidates, including OCA for liver fibrosis due to NASH, should not be approved or approved only under certain conditions; any future determination that the regulatory applications and subsequent information we submit for our product candidates, including OCA for liver fibrosis due to NASH, do not contain adequate clinical or other data or meet applicable regulatory requirements for approval; conditions that may be imposed by regulatory authorities on our marketing approvals for our products and product candidates, including OCA for liver fibrosis due to NASH, such as the need for clinical outcomes data (and not just results based on achievement of a surrogate endpoint), any risk mitigation programs such as a REMS, and any related restrictions, limitations and/or warnings contained in the label of any of our products or product candidates; any potential side effects associated with Ocaliva for PBC, OCA for liver fibrosis due to NASH or our other product candidates that could delay or prevent approval, require that an approved product be taken off the market, require the inclusion of safety warnings or precautions, or otherwise limit the sale of such product or product candidate; the initiation, timing, cost, conduct, progress and results of our research and development activities, preclinical studies and clinical trials, including any issues, delays or failures in identifying patients, enrolling patients, treating patients, retaining patients, meeting specific endpoints in the jurisdictions in which we intend to seek approval or completing and timely reporting the results of our NASH or PBC clinical trials; our ability to establish and maintain relationships with, and the performance of, third-party manufacturers, contract research organizations and other vendors upon whom we are substantially dependent for, among other things, the manufacture and supply of our products, including Ocaliva for PBC and, if approved, OCA for liver fibrosis due to NASH, and our clinical trial activities; our ability to identify, develop and successfully commercialize our products and product candidates, including our ability to successfully launch OCA for liver fibrosis due to NASH, if approved; our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our products and product candidates, including our ability to cost-effectively file, prosecute, defend and enforce any patent claims or other intellectual property rights; the size and growth of the markets for our products and product candidates and our ability to serve those markets; the degree of market acceptance of Ocaliva for PBC and, if approved, OCA for liver fibrosis due to NASH or our other product candidates among physicians, patients and healthcare payors; the availability of adequate coverage and reimbursement from governmental and private healthcare payors for our products, including Ocaliva for PBC and, if approved, OCA for liver fibrosis due to NASH, and our ability to obtain adequate pricing for such products; our ability to establish and maintain effective sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, either directly or through collaborations with third parties; competition from existing drugs or new drugs that become available; our ability to prevent system failures, data breaches or violations of data protection laws; costs and outcomes relating to any disputes, governmental inquiries or investigations, regulatory proceedings, legal proceedings or litigation, including any securities, intellectual property, employment, product liability or other litigation; our collaborators’ election to pursue research, development and commercialization activities; our ability to establish and maintain relationships with collaborators with development, regulatory and commercialization expertise; our need for and ability to generate or obtain additional financing; our estimates regarding future expenses, revenues and capital requirements and the accuracy thereof; our use of cash and short-term investments; our ability to acquire, license and invest in businesses, technologies, product candidates and products; our ability to attract and retain key personnel to manage our business effectively; our ability to manage the growth of our operations, infrastructure, personnel, systems and controls; our ability to obtain and maintain adequate insurance coverage; the impact of COVID-19, including any impact on our results of operations or financial position, related quarantines and government actions, delays relating to our regulatory applications, disruptions relating to our ongoing clinical trials or involving our contract research organizations, study sites or other clinical partners, disruptions relating to our supply chain or involving our third-party manufacturers, distributors or other distribution partners, facility closures or other restrictions, and the extent and duration thereof; the impact of general U.S. and foreign economic, industry, market, regulatory or political conditions, including the potential impact of Brexit; and the other risks and uncertainties identified in our periodic filings filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020.
CONTACT
For more information about Intercept, please contact:
For investors:
investors@interceptpharma.com
For media:
media@interceptpharma.com
Source: Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
FAQ
What did Intercept Pharmaceuticals announce about Ocaliva on January 27, 2021?
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