What the NASH news means — and doesn't mean

Gilead Sciences’ hopes of getting the first shot at the multibillion-dollar market tied to the liver disease NASH have been all but dashed. But does being first matter? Does Gilead’s failure have implications for its rivals? And should we all have seen this coming?

STAT’s Adam Feuerstein picked through the wreckage of Gilead’s selonsertib, a drug that woefully missed the mark in a late-stage trial earlier this week.

For Gilead, the failure is obviously bad, but it’s worth remembering that the first drug for a disease isn’t always the best — or most lucrative — of the bunch. And as for Gilead’s rivals, like Intercept Pharmaceuticals, selonsertib’s setback is a reminder that resolving NASH is difficult but not a guarantee that other scientific approaches will similarly fail.

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