On Thursday, Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CNAT)’s shares inclined 1.66% to $5.84.
Conatus Pharmaceuticals declared that the company’s exploratory Phase 2 Portal Hypertension (PH) clinical trial of emricasan, a first-in-class, orally active pan-caspase inhibitor, met the following primary endpoints: a) a clinically meaningful and statistically noteworthy change from baseline in hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG), a measurement of pressure in the portal vein, in patients with liver cirrhosis and severe portal hypertension (HVPG >=12 mmHg); and b) a statistically noteworthy change from baseline in cleaved Cytokeratin 18 (cCK18), a mechanism-specific biomarker of excessive cell death that contributes to chronic inflammation, in the total evaluable liver cirrhosis patient population.
The open-label PH trial was conducted at nine U.S. sites and enrolled 23 patients (22 evaluable) with portal hypertension and compensated liver cirrhosis that was predominantly due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or hepatitis C virus (HCV), counting patients with active HCV infection and patients who had a sustained viral response (SVR) to antiviral therapy. Portal hypertension, or elevated blood pressure in the major vein feeding into the liver, was confirmed by HVPG measurement >5 mmHg at baseline and measured again after treatment with 25 mg of emricasan orally twice daily for 28 days. Patients were divided according to the HVPG therapeutic threshold of 12 mmHg, which indicates more severe portal hypertension. Reducing the HVPG to below 12 mmHg or reducing HVPG by >=10% or >=20% has been strongly associated with clinical benefit in this patient population.
David T. Hagerty, M.D., Executive Vice President of Clinical Development at Conatus, said, “We were excited to demonstrate that a drug candidate with the potential to achieve long-term resolution of fibrosis and cirrhosis also has the ability to induce a rapid and clinically meaningful reduction of severe portal hypertension. The reduction of portal pressure over a relatively short time frame in the patients with therapeutically relevant portal hypertension may reflect the initial impact of emricasan on the hyperdynamic circulation that is the predominant contributor to portal hypertension as cirrhosis progresses and/or a direct effect upon intrahepatic vasculature resistance. Future studies will be needed to assess the relative contribution of these mechanisms to the observed clinical effect. Decreasing HVPG has been identified by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) as a validated, objective measure that may be acceptable as a surrogate endpoint for clinical trials of patients with liver cirrhosis. These results set the stage for future Phase 2b clinical trials in patients with cirrhosis and therapeutically relevant portal hypertension.”
Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of medicines to treat liver disease. The Company’s lead compound, emricasan, is an orally active pan-caspase protease inhibitor designed to reduce the activity of human caspases, which are enzymes that mediate inflammation and apoptosis.
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)’s shares gained 0.25% to $36.08.
Oracle Academy, Oracle’s (NYSE: ORCL) flagship philanthropic program that delivers a complete portfolio of computer science learning resources to educational institutions, kicks off the 2015-2016 academic year with new curriculum, junior certification courses, and interactive assets.
Furthering its mission to advance computer science education and make it accessible and engaging to students globally, Oracle Academy now offers free memberships to educational institutions, in addition to individuals associated with schools and universities, to drive knowledge, innovation, skill development, and diversity in technology fields.
“As a company, Oracle fosters a culture of innovation, excellence and leadership that extends beyond its campus walls and into more than 9,500 schools and universities worldwide,” said Alison Derbenwick Miller, vice president, Oracle Academy. “We know that computing crosses every industry, and this academic year, we’ve harnessed our collective expertise to launch an innovative, interactive and industry-leading expanded portfolio of offerings for computer science majors and non-majors alike, uniquely designed to support pathways through higher education and usher in the next generation of coders, developers and cloud leaders.”
Oracle Corporation (Oracle) is a provider of enterprise software and computer hardware products, and services. The Company’s offerings comprise Oracle database and middleware software, application software, cloud infrastructure, hardware systems counting computer server, storage and networking products, and related services.
At the end of Thursday’s trade, The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO)‘s shares surged 1.01% to $39.15.
The Coca-Cola said Thursday it plans to sell nine U.S. production plants worth about $380 million to three large bottling partners as the beverage giant accelerates a refranchising drive and lightens its balance sheet, according to WSJ.
The company said it would create a new nationwide supply group that will comprise Coke and independent U.S. bottlers Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Merged, Coca-Cola Bottling Company United and Swire Coca-Cola USA. Under the letter of intent, nine manufacturing facilities will be transferred to the bottlers between 2016 and 2018.
Atlanta-based Coke began divesting U.S. distribution assets counting delivery trucks and warehouses in 2013 in a bid to cut costs and boost profit amid weak soda sales. It accelerated those plans last October, saying it aimed to refranchise the majority of its U.S. distribution by the end of 2017 instead of 2020. WSJ Reports
The Coca-Cola Company is a beverage company. The Company owns or licenses and markets more than 500 nonalcoholic beverage brands, primarily sparkling beverages but also a range of still beverages, such as waters, improved waters, juices and juice drinks, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, and energy and sports drinks.
Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA), ended its Thursday’s trading session with 1.64% gain, and closed at $37.88.
There are a number of brokerage firms which offer projections on earnings and future stock movement of the Apache Corporation. On a consensus basis, Wall Street analysts have a short term price of 56.370 on the equity. The company’s trailing twelve month EPS is -43.430. The consensus analyst estimates according to First Call for the next quarter is -0.290. The current year EPS estimate on the stock is -0.730 and the EPS estimate for next year sits at 0.190.
Apache Corporation (Apache) is an independent energy company, which explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. As of December 31, 2014, Apache had exploration and production interests in five countries: the United States, Canada, Egypt, Australia and the United Kingdom.
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