Novartis, Pfizer Collaborate on Drugs Targeting Complex Liver Disease

   By Denise Roland

Novartis AG (NOVN.EB) and Pfizer Inc. (PFE) are teaming up to target a complex type of liver disease, underscoring the growing willingness of drug makers to work with rivals to tackle difficult-to-treat conditions.

The two pharmaceutical giants said Monday they will combine a Novartis drug aimed at nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with several Pfizer molecules that target the same condition.

The drugs in question target NASH, the progressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Fat buildup leads to inflammation and scarring in the liver and can be life-threatening, requiring a transplant.

Dozens of companies are racing to develop a treatment for NASH, for which there is currently no approved drug. NASH is thought to affect up to 12% of adults in the U.S., according the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. But only a fraction of sufferers are aware of their condition because the disease has no symptoms in the early stages. That means estimates of the potential market size for any successful treatment vary dramatically, from $1 billion to more than $5 billion, according to analysts at Leerink.

Novartis and Pfizer believe combining drugs could give them an edge over others because of the complexity of the disease. Novartis is already testing the same NASH drug in combination with an Allergan PLC (AGN) treatment.

"NASH is not just caused by abnormalities in the liver," said Morris Birnbaum, chief scientific officer for internal medicine at Pfizer. "It's a whole constellation of problems throughout the body."

Drugs in development for NASH target one or some of the three main aspects of the disease: fat buildup, inflammation or scarring. Novartis's drug works on all three fronts, while Pfizer's drugs mainly deal with fat buildup. Eric Hughes, head of development for immunology, hepatology and dermatology at Novartis, said he believed the Pfizer drugs would enhance the fat-fighting abilities of the Novartis drug.

The companies plan to test various combinations of the drugs in the laboratory to determine which ones to take forward into human trials. All of the drugs in question are already in clinical trials as standalone therapies, which the companies will continue. Novartis and Pfizer haven't yet determined how they would go about selling a combination treatment. "We'll cross that bridge when it comes to it," said Dr. Birnbaum. The companies didn't disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Drug makers are increasingly opting to test their medicines in combination with those of their competitors for complicated conditions.

Merck & Co. (MRK) is testing a cancer drug developed by AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) in combination with some of its own oncology therapies. The two companies now share the rights to the drug. Pfizer and Germany's Merck KGaA (MRK.XE) have shared rights to a cancer drug that each is testing in combination with various candidates in their own oncology pipelines.

Pfizer's Dr. Birnbaum said collaborations were becoming more important in the pharmaceutical industry as drug development gets more challenging.

"Every time we develop a therapy that works, the bar to develop something better keeps going higher," he said. "It doesn't pay to get into a race when we can get them to patients faster by working together."

Write to Denise Roland at Denise.Roland@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 29, 2018 02:29 ET (06:29 GMT)

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