Pharma turn to NASH unlikely to mirror meteoric rise of hep C

In early 2014, the stock price of a then lesser-known biotech called Intercept Pharmaceuticals soared six fold in two days of heady trading.

Sparking the surge was news from the company that a clinical study of its experimental drug obeticholic acid would be stopped early due to efficacy. The study found Intercept's drug helped patients with a type of inflammatory liver disease known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH.