Emricasan (IDN-6556, PF-03491390) is a potential drug invented in 1998 by Idun Pharmaceuticals.[1][2] The drug was acquired by Pfizer in 2005[3] and then sold to Conatus Pharmaceuticals in 2010.[1] Conatus in turn licensed emricasan to Novartis in 2017 for exclusive development and commercialization.[4]
The substance acts as a pan-caspase inhibitor and has antiapoptotic and antiinflammatory effects.[4] It was developed for the treatment of liver disease[5] and has been granted fast track designation by the FDA for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitiscirrhosis[6][7][8] The substance is the first pan-caspase inhibitor to advance to broad clinical testing, and its novel mechanism of action has led to research using it for other potential applications.[9][10]
^Linton SD, Aja T, Armstrong RA, Bai X, Chen LS, Chen N, et al. (November 2005). "First-in-class pan caspase inhibitor developed for the treatment of liver disease". Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 48 (22): 6779–82. doi:10.1021/jm050307e. PMID16250635.
^Haddad JJ (September 2013). "Current opinion on 3-[2-[(2-tert-butyl-phenylaminooxalyl)-amino]-propionylamino]- 4-oxo-5-(2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-phenoxy)-pentanoic acid, an investigational drug targeting caspases and caspase-like proteases: the clinical trials in sight and recent anti-inflammatory advances". Recent Patents on Inflammation & Allergy Drug Discovery. 7 (3): 229–58. doi:10.2174/1872213X113079990017. PMID23859695.