Intercept continues to lead the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis race, but some analysts think Gilead is making up ground; data presented at AASLD shows those two, along with Allergan/Tobira and Bristol, are jockeying to produce combination regimens for the unmet medical need.

Allergan will pay a huge premium – up to $1.7bn in a milestone-heavy deal – for Tobira and $50m up front for the preclinical startup Akarna to expand its gastrointestinal franchise into the potentially lucrative NASH market.

Data presented at AAAI meeting show reduced annualized asthma exacerbation rates across all patient populations, but doctors are unlikely to switch patients served well by existing biologics.