OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - Bausch Health Companies Inc. (BHC), a pharmaceutical company, on Tuesday announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire DURECT Corp. (DRRX), gaining access to its novel therapeutic candidate, larsucosterol.
Shares of DURECT are increasing by around 12% in the pre-market trading.
The acquisition of larsucosterol's clinical development program for alcoholic hepatitis or AH, complements Bausch Health's ongoing RED-C clinical program.
Larsucosterol, a naturally occurring sulfated oxysterol and epigenetic modulator, has shown encouraging results in Phase 2 trials for the treatment of alcoholic hepatitis.
Bausch Health plans to leverage its hepatology expertise to support the continued clinical development and potential commercialization of the therapy.
Alcoholic hepatitis is a serious and life-threatening type of liver disease caused by long-term heavy alcohol use. It leads to severe inflammation and damage to the liver. Currently, there are no approved treatments for AH by the FDA or EMA, so new treatment options are urgently needed to help patients survive.
The Phase 3 trial design is based on feedback from the FDA during a Breakthrough Therapy Designation meeting and insights from the earlier Phase 2b AHFIRM trial.
RED-C is evaluating the effectiveness of rifaximin SSD, a next-generation treatment, in delaying the first hospitalization for overt hepatic encephalopathy or OHE and reducing overall mortality.
Currently, there are no approved medications worldwide to prevent or delay the first episode of OHE in patients with cirrhosis.
Enrollment in two global Phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials has been completed, with safety and efficacy results expected in early 2026.
In the pre-market trading, Bausch Health is 2.32% higher at $7.05 on the New York Stock Exchange.
In the pre-market trading, DURECT is 12.8460% higher at $0.6237 on the Nasdaq.
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