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Back in 2019, Novartis committed $80 million to collaborate with Pliant Therapeutics on a preclinical candidate to treat liver fibrosis associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH. Within two years, Pliant completed a Phase I study of the drug and handed it over to the pharma partner.

But Novartis is now giving the drug back.

Novartis told Pliant that the move “part of its new strategy focusing on a limited number of therapeutic areas, to divest clinical NASH assets and, as a result, to discontinue the development of PLN-1474,” according to a Feb. 17 SEC filing from Pliant.

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