Clinical trials for seladelpar in NASH, PBC and PSC may resume- CymaBay Therapeutics

CymaBay Therapeutics announced that the FDA lifted clinical holds on seladelpar for all three Investigational New Drug (IND) Applications in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) and Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC). On November 25, 2019, CymaBay halted all clinical trials of seladelpar after atypical histologic findings with no clinical or laboratory correlates were identified at the planned end-of treatment biopsy review of a 52-week Phase II NASH study. The FDA concurred with this decision and placed all active INDs for seladelpar on clinical hold. CymaBay committed to an in-depth investigation of these findings and comprehensive safety evaluation that concluded with an independent, expert panel review involving some of the world’s leading liver pathologists and hepatologists. The expert panel found no clinical, biochemical or histological evidence of seladelpar-related liver injury in the Phase II NASH study and unanimously supported re-initiating clinical development of seladelpar pending approval by the FDA. Based on the results of the investigation and the expert panel conclusions, FDA concluded that clinical trials for NASH, PBC and PSC may resume.