Intercept Pharmaceuticals to Present Phase 2a Portal Hypertension Data at American Association for Study of Liver Diseases's Liver Meeting

NEW YORK, Nov. 8, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ICPT) (Intercept), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to treat chronic liver diseases, today announced initial results from PESTO, an open-label Phase 2a trial evaluating the effects of obeticholic acid (OCA) for the treatment of portal hypertension. Twelve patients with established alcoholic cirrhosis and portal hypertension were administered a 10mg daily dose of OCA for seven days. The drug was well tolerated in all twelve patients and, of the eight patients assessed for changes in portal pressure, five met the primary efficacy endpoint with a clinically significant improvement in hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG), the standard measurement of portal pressure in such patients.