UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

(Mark One)
x		ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012

OR

o		TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from             to            

Commission file number: 001-35668

 

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

 

Delaware		22-3868459
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

18 Desbrosses Street New York, NY		10013
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)		(Zip Code)

(646) 747-1000

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class		Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.001 par value		NASDAQ Global Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o No x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.Yes o No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer o		Accelerated filer o		Non-accelerated filer x		Smaller reporting company o
				(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).Yes o No x

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant (without admitting that any person whose shares are not included in such calculation is an affiliate) computed by reference to the price at which the common stock was last sold on March 15, 2013 was $232,642,790. The registrant has provided this information as of March 15, 2013 because its common stock was not publicly traded as of the last business day of its most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

As of March 15, 2013, there were 16,614,165 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share, outstanding.

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		Page
Part I.
Item 1. Business			1
Item 1A. Risk Factors			31
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments			64
Item 2. Properties			64
Item 3. Legal Proceedings			64
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures			64
Part II.
Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities			65
Item 6. Selected Financial Data			68
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations			69
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk			86
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data			86
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure			86
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures			86
Item 9B. Other Information			86
Part III.
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance			87
Item 11. Executive Compensation			87
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters			87
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence			87
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services			87
Part IV.
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules			87
Signatures			88

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Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenue, projected costs, prospects, plans, objectives of management and expected market growth, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “potential,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about:

These forward-looking statements are only predictions and we may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, so you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and operating results. We have included important factors in the cautionary statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in Item 1.A. Risk Factors, that could cause actual future results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that we make. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may make.

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You should read this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the documents that we have filed as exhibits to the Annual Report on Form 10-K with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

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PART I

All brand names or trademarks appearing in this report are the property of their respective holders. Unless the context requires otherwise, references in this report to “Intercept” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiary.

Item 1. Business

Overview

We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to treat chronic liver diseases utilizing our proprietary bile acid chemistry. Our product candidates have the potential to treat orphan and more prevalent liver diseases for which there currently are limited therapeutic solutions.

Our lead product candidate, obeticholic acid, or OCA, is a bile acid analog, a chemical substance that has a structure based on a naturally occurring human bile acid. OCA is a first-in-class product candidate that selectively binds to and induces activity in the farnesoid X receptor, or FXR, which we believe has broad liver-protective properties. We are developing OCA initially for primary biliary cirrhosis, or PBC, as a second line treatment for patients who have an inadequate response to or who are unable to tolerate standard of care therapy and therefore need additional treatment. PBC is a chronic autoimmune liver disease that, if inadequately treated, may eventually lead to cirrhosis, liver failure and death. We are conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial of OCA in PBC, which we call the POISE trial, that we anticipate will serve as the basis for seeking regulatory approval in the United States and Europe. As of December 19, 2012, we have completed enrollment of the POISE trial with 217 patients, exceeding the originally targeted number of patients by approximately 20%. We currently expect results from the POISE trial to be available in the second quarter of 2014. OCA has received orphan drug designation in the United States and Europe for the treatment of PBC. We own worldwide rights to OCA outside of Japan and China, where we have exclusively licensed the compound to Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, or DSP, and granted it an option to exclusively license OCA in certain other Asian countries.

If the POISE trial is successful, we intend to submit a New Drug Application, or NDA, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, for approval of OCA for the treatment of PBC in the United States and a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, to the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, for approval in Europe. Based on written scientific advice from the EMA, we believe that the EMA will accept our current clinical program as the basis for considering approval of OCA for PBC. With respect to the FDA, we intend to request an accelerated approval of OCA based on the acceptance of the POISE trial primary endpoint as a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. If the FDA grants an accelerated approval of OCA, we will be required to conduct one or more additional clinical trials post-approval to verify and confirm the clinical benefit predicted by the surrogate endpoint. This clinical outcomes trial must satisfy FDA’s definition of an adequate and well-controlled trial and would have to be substantially underway at the time of the NDA submission and would be completed after accelerated approval. We are in discussions with the FDA about the design of the clinical outcomes trial and plan to initiate it as early as the second half of 2013.

We are sponsoring an independent study involving more than ten leading PBC centers in North America and Europe, or collectively the Global PBC Study Group, that are pooling their long-term patient data to evaluate the relationship between biochemical and clinical endpoints. We anticipate final data from at least 4,000 patients will be collected and analyzed as part of this study. Initial results for more than 2,100 patients have been accepted as a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver, or EASL, to be held in April 2013. The data confirms that the POISE trial primary endpoint has a highly statistically significant correlation with liver transplant-free survival. We anticipate that final results will be available by the end of 2013 and will support what we believe is an emerging consensus among PBC opinion leaders concerning the clinical utility of our selected surrogate endpoint.

An academic consortium in the United Kingdom has recently published data from a large observational study of over 2,300 PBC patients recruited from every hospital in the UK into a PBC research cohort. The results show that there is a highly statistically significant correlation between ALP, both alone and together with other biochemical parameters such as bilirubin, and clinical outcomes. Several different threshold values

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of ALP were tested and it was demonstrated that reductions in ALP levels down through to less than 1.5 times upper limit normal (ULN) are strongly predictive of clinical benefit.

In addition to PBC, we are pursuing other indications in our OCA development program, including portal hypertension, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, and primary bile acid diarrhea, or PBAD. The pipeline chart below shows the current stage of development of OCA for these indications, as well as the preclinical programs for our other product candidates.

By virtue of our patent portfolio and the proprietary know-how of our employees and our collaborators at the University of Perugia, we believe that we hold a leading position in the bile acid chemistry therapeutic field. Through a longstanding collaboration with Professor Roberto Pellicciari, Ph.D., one of our co-founders, and certain scientists in the medicinal chemistry group at the University of Perugia, we have gained the capability to rationally design compounds that bind selectively and potently to FXR and other bile acid receptors. Starting with OCA, which was invented by Professor Pellicciari and, together with its underlying patents, was assigned to us under our agreements with him and the University of Perugia, our collaboration has resulted in a pipeline of bile acid analogs in addition to OCA, which target both FXR and a second dedicated bile acid receptor called TGR5, a target of interest for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and associated metabolic diseases. We intend to continue developing these and other product candidates as we advance our pipeline, in some cases subject to the procurement of additional funding or through strategic collaborations.

Our Strategy

Our strategy is to develop and commercialize novel therapeutics for patients with chronic liver and other diseases, beginning with OCA for the second line treatment of PBC and other follow-on indications that we believe are underserved by existing therapies. The key elements of our strategy are to:

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We may enter into strategic collaborations to implement our strategy.

Overview of Liver Function, Bile Acids and Chronic Liver Diseases

The liver performs many essential functions that are crucial for survival, including the regulation of bile acid metabolism. Bile acids are natural detergent-like emulsifying agents that are released from the gallbladder into the intestine when food is ingested, and are essential for the absorption of dietary cholesterol and other nutrients. Cholesterol bound up by bile acids is taken up by the liver, where the cholesterol is then converted into one of two primary bile acids. The bile acids are then actively secreted into bile ducts, which eventually empty into the gallbladder. This digestive cycle of bile flow from gallbladder to intestine to liver and back is called the enterohepatic recirculation of bile.

In the past decade, we have learned that in addition to facilitating nutrient absorption, bile acids have a much broader role than previously realized in regulating multiple biological functions. They are also complex signaling molecules that integrate metabolic and immune pathways involved in the healthy functioning of various tissues and organs. For example, the actions of bile acids in the liver, intestine and kidney regulate repair mechanisms that modulate inflammation and fibrosis, or scarring, which can lead to progressive organ damage.

The biological effects of bile acids are mediated through dedicated receptors. The best understood is the farnesoid X receptor, a nuclear receptor that regulates bile acid synthesis and clearance from the liver, thereby preventing excessive bile acid build-up in the liver, which may be toxic. As a result, FXR is a target for the treatment of liver diseases such as PBC that involve impaired bile flow, a condition called cholestasis, in which the liver is exposed to higher than normal levels of bile acids, causing significant damage over time due to the detergent effects of bile acids. In addition, bile acid activation of FXR induces anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory and other mechanisms that are necessary for the normal regeneration of the liver. Based on the discovery of similar FXR-mediated protective mechanisms in other organs exposed to bile acids, we believe that FXR may also be a potential target for the treatment of a number of intestinal, kidney and other diseases.

Our Lead Product Candidate: Obeticholic Acid (OCA) for PBC

Primary Biliary Cirrhosis

Our current clinical focus is on the development of OCA, a novel, orally administered, first-in-class FXR agonist that we believe has broad liver-protective properties and may effectively counter a variety of chronic insults to the liver that cause fibrosis, which can eventually lead to cirrhosis, liver transplant and death. Our first targeted disease is PBC, an orphan indication with a significant unmet medical need.

PBC is a rare liver disease that primarily results from autoimmune destruction of the bile ducts that transport bile acids out of the liver, resulting in cholestasis. As the disease progresses, persistent toxic build-up of bile acids cause progressive liver damage marked by chronic inflammation and fibrosis. In response to the bile acid mediated toxicity seen in PBC, liver cells release alkaline phosphatase, or ALP, a liver enzyme that is a key biomarker of the disease pathology. Elevated blood levels of ALP are used as the primary means of diagnosis of PBC and are closely monitored in patients as the most important indicator of treatment response and prognosis.

While PBC is rare, it is the most common cholestatic liver disease. An estimated 90% of patients are women, with approximately one in 1,000 women over the age of 40 afflicted by the disease. The mean age of diagnosis is about 40 years and the typical initial presentation occurs between the ages of 30 and 65 years. In the United States, the disease is the fifth most common cause of liver transplant and accounts for approximately two percent of deaths attributed to cirrhosis. A majority of PBC patients are asymptomatic at the time of initial diagnosis, but most develop symptoms over time. Fatigue and pruritus, or itching, are by far the most common symptoms in PBC patients. Less common symptoms include dry eyes and mouth, as well as jaundice, which can be seen in more advanced disease. Based on the guidelines of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease, or AASLD, and EASL, the clinical diagnosis of PBC is established based on the presence of (i) a positive anti-mitochondrial antibody, or AMA, a marker of this autoimmune disease seen in up to 95% of PBC patients, and (ii) elevated serum levels of ALP, an enzyme that is released by liver cells

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in response to the bile acid mediated toxicity and that is a key biomarker of the disease pathology. ALP is routinely measured in blood tests and, in the earlier stages of PBC, it is often the only abnormally elevated liver enzyme, rising to between two to ten times higher than normal values. It is closely monitored in PBC patients as an indicator of treatment response and prognosis. Bilirubin is a marker of liver function and is also monitored in PBC to provide an indication of how well the liver is functioning. Liver biopsy can be used to confirm the diagnosis of PBC, but is not required and is becoming less-frequently performed.

Disease progression in PBC varies significantly but usually is relatively slow, with median survival in untreated patients of 7.5 years if symptomatic at diagnosis and up to 16 years if asymptomatic at diagnosis. PBC patients whose disease is progressing have persistently elevated levels of ALP and other liver enzymes, with abnormal bilirubin levels heralding more advanced disease. Data from published long-term studies demonstrate that a significant portion of such patients with advancing disease progress to liver failure, transplant or death within five to ten years, despite receiving ursodiol, the standard of care therapy.

Currently Available Treatment Options for PBC

The only approved drug for the treatment of PBC is ursodeoxycholic acid, available generically as ursodiol, which is the standard initial course of therapy for all PBC patients. Ursodiol is a naturally occurring bile acid found in small quantities in humans and it is the least detergent of the various types of bile acids that make up the bile pool. In traditional Asian medicine, ursodiol obtained from bears has been used for centuries as a “liver tonic” for any disease or condition associated with liver malfunction. In humans, the typical daily dose of ursodiol of approximately one gram represents more than one-fifth of the entire bile pool and, after ongoing therapy, it will comprise at least half of the entire bile pool. It is believed that ursodiol treatment results in the bile pool being less toxic to the liver due to ursodiol’s dilution of other more detergent bile acids.

In patients for whom ursodiol is effective, the treatment slows the progression of PBC, reducing the likelihood of liver failure and the need for transplant. As shown in numerous clinical trials of ursodiol treatment, a positive therapeutic response is primarily determined by sustained reduction of ALP levels, along with maintenance of normal bilirubin levels, indicating adequately compensated liver function. This biochemical improvement has been shown to correlate well with improved clinical outcomes such as transplant-free survival.

Although drugs such as colchicine, budesonide, methotrexate and others have been tested as treatments in PBC, none has been shown to be both effective and safe in altering the course of the disease.

Our PBC Opportunity

While ursodiol’s mechanism of action at therapeutic doses is to dilute more detergent bile acids, it has no known pharmacological effects mediated by FXR or other bile acid receptors. Although ursodiol is the established standard of care for the treatment of PBC, studies have shown that up to 50% of PBC patients fail to respond adequately to treatment. Patients typically need to take approximately one gram of ursodiol daily in divided doses, which we believe presents a compliance challenge for some patients.

The outlook and treatment options for end-stage PBC patients who fail to respond to ursodiol are limited. Although liver transplant can be curative, many patients fail to receive a donor organ in time, and for those who do, there are very significant clinical risks, such as infection and organ rejection, as well as significant costs. In addition, the disease recurrence rate is as high as 18% at five years and up to 30% at ten years after liver transplant.

According to industry data, there are approximately 300,000 people with PBC in developed countries, of whom we believe approximately 60,000 have been diagnosed and are on ursodiol therapy. Based on this estimate, we believe there are up to 30,000 PBC patients who may currently be eligible for treatment with OCA. With increasing identification of PBC through routine liver function testing in primary care, we believe that there may be significantly more patients who will potentially be eligible for, and be interested in, receiving a new therapy if it becomes available on the market. While ursodiol is the standard of care for the treatment of PBC, given the limitations of its efficacy and compliance with the dosing regimen discussed above, we believe that there is a significant unmet need for a novel second line therapy in PBC.

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Our Solution: OCA for PBC

Overview

Our lead product candidate, OCA, is a bile acid analog and first-in-class FXR agonist derived from the primary human bile acid chenodeoxycholic acid, or CDCA. CDCA, a natural FXR agonist, has historically been used safely as a chronic therapy for cholesterol gallstone disease. We are initially developing OCA for the second line treatment of PBC for patients with an inadequate therapeutic response to ursodiol or who are unable to tolerate ursodiol. OCA has received orphan drug designation in the United States for the treatment of PBC and a related disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis, or PSC. OCA also has orphan designation in Europe for PBC. We submitted an Investigational New Drug Application, or IND, to the FDA for OCA for the treatment of PBC in 2006. We believe we are the first company to have advanced an FXR agonist into clinical trials and have completed enrollment of our Phase 3 POISE trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of OCA as a novel treatment in PBC. We own worldwide rights to OCA outside of Japan and China, where we have exclusively licensed the compound to DSP, which also has an option to exclusively license OCA in certain additional Asian countries.

We have completed two randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trials of OCA in PBC patients, one with OCA in combination with ursodiol and one with OCA as monotherapy. The first trial enrolled 165 patients to evaluate the addition of OCA to ursodiol in patients with an inadequate response to ursodiol therapy, and the second trial enrolled 59 patients to evaluate OCA given as monotherapy. Both trials showed that, over a 12-week period, single daily doses of OCA at the lowest dose of 10 mg met the primary and secondary endpoints of those trials, producing statistically significant reductions in levels of ALP of greater than 20% and other important liver enzymes. We consider reductions in ALP levels of greater than 10% to be a clinically meaningful improvement. Further, long-term open label extension phases of these trials have demonstrated that the majority of patients taking OCA for at least 12 months, with some on therapy for more than 3 years, maintained a durable treatment response. Pruritus, or itching, a very common symptom in PBC patients, was the most common adverse event reported in our Phase 2 trials, with severity increasing with dose.

OCA Benefits in PBC

We believe that OCA has the potential to provide the following benefits in the treatment of PBC:

Phase 3 PBC Program for OCA

We are currently conducting our Phase 3 POISE trial, which has been designed to study the safety and efficacy of OCA in PBC patients with an inadequate therapeutic response to ursodiol or who are unable to tolerate ursodiol. In this trial, eligible PBC patients continue their ursodiol treatment, except for those patients unable to

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tolerate ursodiol, and were randomized into one of three trial arms of approximately 72 patients each, adding either: 10 mg of OCA; 5 mg of OCA increasing over the course of the trial to 10 mg of OCA; or a placebo. The double-blind phase of the trial will be 12 months in duration, and patients completing this phase will have the option to continue in an open label, long-term safety extension phase for another five years, during which all patients will receive OCA treatment with daily doses ranging from 5 mg to 25 mg a day, as clinically indicated. In March 2013, we enrolled our first patient into the long-term safety extension phase of our POISE trial.

The primary endpoint of the 12 month double-blind portion of the POISE trial is the achievement of both a reduction in ALP level to below a threshold of 1.67 times upper limit normal, or ULN, with a minimum of 15% reduction in ALP level from baseline, and a normal bilirubin level, a biomarker of liver function, as compared to placebo after 12 months of therapy. ULN is the uppermost level of a specified parameter that is considered normal in healthy people. Patients with ALP and bilirubin levels within these thresholds have been shown in long-term studies to be at significantly lower risk of progressing to liver transplant and death. In order to be eligible to enter the POISE trial, patients must have previously met the diagnostic criteria for PBC and have been taking a therapeutic dose of ursodiol for at least 12 months or, if unable to tolerate ursodiol, patients must not have been on therapy for at least three months prior to entering the trial. In addition, patients must have ALP levels of at least 1.67 times ULN and/or bilirubin levels of one to two times ULN. The POISE trial was designed to enroll 180 patients across approximately 60 clinical sites in North America and Europe. We completed enrollment of the POISE trial in December 2012 with 59 participating clinical sites in North America and Europe. The trial has enrolled 217 patients, approximately 20% more than the 180 patients we had originally targeted. The demographics and baseline disease characteristics of the patients enrolled are similar to those seen in our Phase 2 trial of OCA as combination therapy in PBC patients. As of March 15, 2013, the discontinuation rate due to pruritus, even if attributed solely to the OCA dose groups, is lower than that seen in the 10mg OCA dose group in our Phase 2 combination study.

We are advancing a once daily 10 mg dose of OCA in the POISE trial as our potential approvable dose. The chart below shows an analysis of the extracted intention to treat data for the 10 mg dose groups in our two Phase 2 trials based on patients who would have met the inclusion criteria for entry in the POISE trial. The analysis demonstrates that after 12 weeks of treatment, approximately 40% to 45% of OCA-treated patients in our Phase 2 trials would have met the POISE trial primary endpoint as compared to 5% to 9% of the placebo-treated patients. In addition, 80% of OCA-treated patients across our Phase 2 trials had a reduction in ALP levels of at least 10%, as compared to 13% of placebo-treated patients.

If the POISE trial is successful, we intend to submit an NDA to the FDA for approval of OCA for the treatment of PBC in the United States and an MAA to the EMA for approval in Europe. Based on written scientific advice from the EMA, we believe that the EMA will accept our current clinical program as the basis for considering approval of OCA for PBC. With respect to the FDA, we intend to request an accelerated

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approval of OCA based on the acceptance of the POISE trial primary endpoint as a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. If the FDA grants an accelerated approval of OCA, we will be required to conduct one or more additional clinical trials post-approval to verify and confirm the clinical benefit predicted by the surrogate endpoint. This clinical outcomes trial must satisfy FDA’s definition of an adequate and well-controlled trial and would have to be substantially underway at the time of the NDA submission and would be completed after accelerated approval. We are in discussions with the FDA about the design of the clinical outcomes trial and plan to initiate it as early as the second half of 2013.

A number of published clinical studies have demonstrated that lower levels of ALP, both independently or in conjunction with normal bilirubin levels, correlate with a significant reduction in adverse clinical outcomes such as liver transplant and death. We believe that one of the key factors in the FDA’s potential acceptance of our POISE trial primary endpoint as a basis for approval will be the result of additional analysis of the already available PBC clinical outcomes data.

We are sponsoring the Global PBC Study Group, which involves more than ten leading academic PBC centers in Europe and North America, that are pooling their long-term patient data to evaluate the relationship between biochemical and clinical endpoints. We anticipate final data from at least 4,000 patients will be collected and analyzed as part of the study. Initial results for more than 2,100 patients have been accepted as a poster presentation at the EASL annual meeting, to be held in April 2013. The data confirms that the POISE trial primary endpoint has a highly statistically significant correlation with liver transplant-free survival. We anticipate that final results will be available by the end of 2013 and will support what we believe is an emerging consensus among PBC opinion leaders concerning the clinical utility of our selected surrogate endpoint.

An academic consortium in the UK has recently published data from a large observational study of over 2,300 PBC patients recruited from every hospital in the UK into a PBC research cohort. The results show that there is a highly statistically significant correlation between ALP, both alone and together with other biochemical parameters such as bilirubin, and clinical outcomes. Several different threshold values of ALP were tested and it was demonstrated that reductions in ALP levels down through to less than 1.5 times ULN are strongly predictive of clinical benefit.

We believe that the Global PBC Study Group and UK-based PBC research cohort represent the largest PBC clinical datasets ever assembled to analyze the correlation of biochemical therapeutic response with clinical outcomes in PBC patients. We further believe that the analyses already available confirm the results recently published, or made available to us, by four different members of the Global PBC Study Group (the University of Toronto, Mayo Clinic, University of Paris and Erasmus MC (Rotterdam)). These groups have independently corroborated that the achievement of an ALP level of less than 1.67 times ULN, together with a normal bilirubin level, correlate with a statistically significant reduction of risk of adverse clinical outcomes such as liver transplant and death.

Summary of additional preclinical and clinical studies required for regulatory submissions

Based on our interactions with the FDA and EMA, we believe that, in addition to the successful completion of the POISE trial, we will need to complete the following clinical studies prior to our planned NDA and MAA filings:

In addition, other nonclinical studies that we will need to complete are carcinogenicity studies in two rodent species, which were initiated in early 2012, and reproductive toxicology studies. Finally, before we

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submit an NDA to the FDA, we believe that we will need to be substantially underway with a clinical outcomes trial to confirm clinical benefit at the time of NDA submission. We are in discussions with the FDA about the design of the clinical outcomes trial and plan to initiate it as early as the second half of 2013. It is possible that the FDA may require that we conduct and/or complete additional clinical trials and preclinical studies before it will consider our NDA for approval.

Summary of Completed OCA PBC Clinical Trials

Phase 2 Trial: OCA as Combination Therapy in PBC Patients

We have completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial of OCA in 165 patients with PBC. The trial evaluated the effects of adding one of three doses of OCA (10 mg, 25 mg and 50 mg) or placebo to ursodiol therapy in patients with ALP levels of higher than 1.5 times ULN who had not responded adequately to ursodiol therapy alone. Patients continued their prior ursodiol dose throughout the trial. The trial was comprised of a 12-week treatment period, with a two-week follow up. At the end of the 12-week treatment period, all three doses of OCA added to ursodiol therapy produced statistically significant reductions in ALP levels as compared with patients receiving placebo plus ursodiol therapy, the primary endpoint. OCA-treated patients demonstrated a mean reduction of 21% to 25% in ALP levels, as compared to patients receiving placebo plus ursodiol therapy, who exhibited a mean reduction of less than 3%. At trial entry, the baseline mean ALP value for all the patient groups was approximately 2.4 times ULN. In addition, patients who received OCA experienced similar significant decreases in other clinically relevant liver enzymes such as gamma glutamyl transferase, or GGT, aspartate transaminase, or AST, alanine transaminase, or ALT, and bilirubin. Furthermore, serum markers of inflammation and immune response also improved as seen in reductions of CRP and IgM, which are closely associated with autoimmune dysfunction in PBC.

With the exception of a higher incidence of pruritus in the two highest OCA dose groups and a higher incidence of severe pruritus in all OCA dose groups, the Phase 2 clinical trial data showed that adverse events were generally similar across all groups, including the placebo group. Pruritus was dose dependent, with the ursodiol plus placebo incidence at 50%, ursodiol plus 10 mg of OCA at 47%, ursodiol plus 25 mg of OCA at 85% and ursodiol plus 50 mg of OCA at 80%. However, the severity of pruritus and the discontinuation rate due to severe pruritus increased with OCA dose and was worse than seen with placebo. There were no other statistically significant side effects observed over the placebo group, except for mild nausea.

Open Label Long-Term Safety and Efficacy Trial for OCA as Combination Therapy

Following the completion of the double-blind portion of the Phase 2 combination trial described above, 78 patients were enrolled in an open label long-term safety and efficacy extension study, or LTSE. Of these patients, 19 subsequently discontinued their participation in the LTSE, ten due to pruritus, one due to elevated bilirubin and eight due to other adverse events or for other reasons. There were five serious adverse events in the LTSE, of which two occurred at each of the 10 mg and 25 mg doses and one occurred at the 50 mg dose. None of the serious adverse events, which were typically related to hospitalizations for pre-existing conditions, was considered likely to be related to OCA therapy, and no serious adverse event was considered to be hepatic in nature.

In the LTSE, patients continued to receive open label OCA, increasing from a dose of 10 mg to as high as 50 mg each day. In patients whose dose was increased, there was a benefit of increasing the dose up to 25 mg from 10 mg (with an incremental 9% fall in ALP), but not in increasing the dose above 25 mg. Over two-thirds of the patients were increased to a dose of OCA of 20 mg or more. Pruritus was the most common adverse event, reported in 68 of the 78 patients (approximately 87%). Other adverse events included fatigue, insomnia and upper respiratory tract infection, each of which was reported by approximately 13% of the patients in the LTSE.

The chart below demonstrates that patients taking OCA achieved mean reductions in ALP to approximately 1.67 times ULN after having been on therapy for three months and maintained that treatment response throughout a 12-month period and beyond. Furthermore, after 12 months, more than 50% of the patients had met the Phase 3 POISE trial primary endpoint, with a reduction in ALP levels to below 1.67 times ULN, along with at least a 15% reduction in ALP, and a normal bilirubin level. Taken together with the data from our ongoing monotherapy LTSE trial discussed below, we believe that these LTSE phases

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of our Phase 2 trials demonstrate that a large majority of patients taking OCA for at least 12 months, with some currently on therapy for more than 3 years, maintain a durable therapeutic response.

Phase 2 Combination Trial LTSE

Phase 2 Trial: OCA as Monotherapy in PBC Patients

We have completed a 59 patient double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial of OCA given as a monotherapy to patients with PBC. The trial evaluated the effects of 10 mg and 50 mg doses of OCA compared to placebo in patients with baseline ALP levels of higher than 1.5 times ULN. Patients either had never taken ursodiol or had not been taking ursodiol for at least 3 months before the start of the trial. The trial was comprised of a 12-week treatment period, with a two-week follow up. At the end of the 12-week treatment period, statistically significant reductions in ALP were seen in the treated patients (38% to 45% mean ALP reductions compared with no change in the placebo-treated patients). Patients in the 10 mg dose group experienced absolute reductions in ALP levels from a mean of approximately 3.9 times ULN to approximately 1.9 times ULN at the end of the study. Even greater reductions in GGT (63% to 75%) were seen in the OCA-treated groups (compared to 3% for placebo-treated groups). There were also significant improvements in ALT levels and bilirubin levels. In addition, IgM also improved. Pruritus was seen more commonly in the patients treated with OCA, with the incidence, severity and discontinuation rate all increasing with dose; otherwise, the other adverse events were not clearly different across the groups.

Ongoing Open Label Long-Term Safety and Efficacy Trial for OCA as a Monotherapy

Following the completion of the double-blind portion of the Phase 2 monotherapy trial described above, some patients were given the option to enroll in an open label long-term safety and efficacy extension study, or monotherapy LTSE. The monotherapy LTSE phase is currently ongoing. Patients continue to receive open label OCA in this phase, and have been increased from a starting dose of 10 mg to as high as 50 mg.

As of January 31, 2013, 20 patients were continuing in the monotherapy LTSE, among whom eight patients had been on OCA therapy for more than three years. Approximately half of the patients are currently taking 20 mg or more of OCA. Consistent with the combination trial LTSE, continued improvements in

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biochemistry have been demonstrated. Pruritus is the most common adverse event and has been reported over the course of the monotherapy LTSE in 25 of the 28 subjects (or 89%) for whom data are available. Other adverse events include headache, arthralgia, constipation, fatigue and nausea, which have been reported in approximately 36%, 32%, 29%, 29% and 25% of the patients, respectively. The chart below demonstrates that patients taking OCA maintained mean reductions in ALP to approximately 1.67 times ULN throughout a 36-month period and beyond. Furthermore, after 12 months, approximately half of the patients had met the Phase 3 POISE trial primary endpoint, with a reduction in ALP levels to below 1.67 times ULN, along with at least a 15% reduction in ALP, and a normal bilirubin level. We believe that the LTSE phase of our Phase 2 trials demonstrate that a large majority of patients taking OCA for at least 12 months, with some currently on therapy for more than 3 years, maintain a durable therapeutic response.

Phase 2 Monotherapy Trial LTSE

Summary of Completed Phase 1 Trials

OCA has been evaluated in two Phase 1 clinical trials to study its safety and pharmacokinetic profile in healthy volunteers. The first was a single ascending dose trial in 24 subjects testing single OCA doses in the range of 50 mg to 500 mg. The second was a multiple ascending dose trial in 50 subjects testing repeated OCA doses in the range of 25 mg to 250 mg for 12 consecutive days. Adverse events seen in the Phase 1 trials were generally mild. Only two adverse events, upper abdominal pain and nasopharyngitis, were observed in one subject each in the single ascending dose trial. In the multiple ascending dose trial, doses from 25 mg to 100 mg were generally well-tolerated. At the highest dose of 250 mg, ALT and AST increases were seen, consistent with our animal toxicology data. This dose is 25-times greater than the 10 mg dose in the POISE trial and ten-times greater than the 25 mg dose being tested in our ongoing Phase 2b trial for NASH, called the FLINT trial. Half of the subjects in the 250 mg dosing group reported mild pruritus and one discontinued due to a rash.

Additional Potential Clinical Indications for OCA

Based on the potential protective effects of OCA in the liver, we are conducting clinical trials in additional chronic liver disease indications with potential greater market opportunities, with the view of expanding OCA’s therapeutic applications.

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Potential Use of OCA to Treat Portal Hypertension

A study in an animal model of cirrhosis showed that OCA treatment can acutely reverse portal hypertension through a localized vasodilatory mechanism that is independent of its longer term anti-fibrotic effects. Portal hypertension results from increased pressure in the portal vein, which feeds most of the blood supply to the liver. The condition typically occurs as the liver becomes cirrhotic and more rigid, thereby offering more resistance to blood inflow from the portal vein. Many patients with liver cirrhosis go on to develop portal hypertension, which is a common cause of morbidity and mortality at the end stage of all chronic liver diseases. An early manifestation of portal hypertension is the development of esophageal varices, which are distended and weakened veins in the lower part of the esophagus that can burst and cause catastrophic bleeding. More than 40% of patients with cirrhosis have varices at the time of diagnosis. The standard assessment of portal venous pressure is to measure the hepatic venous pressure gradient, or HVPG, and clinically significant portal hypertension is defined as an HVPG of greater than ten millimeters of mercury, or mm Hg, where one to five mm Hg HVPG is considered normal. Patients with an HVPG of greater than 12 mm Hg are at particularly high risk of variceal bleeding, with each episode carrying an approximately 20% mortality risk. There are no approved therapies for the treatment of portal hypertension, although beta blockers are commonly used to treat patients. However, they are effective in only 25% to 33% of patients and have significant safety issues in patients with portal hypertension. Among other concerns, beta blockers lower systemic blood pressure in these patients who already tend to have low blood pressure, or hypotension, which predisposes them to fainting and inadequate blood perfusion of vital organs.

Phase 2 Trial for Portal Hypertension

It has been shown clinically that reducing pressure in the portal vein, as determined by HVPG measurement, can lower the risk of adverse outcomes such as the incidence of variceal bleeding. We therefore believe that HVPG reduction is an appropriate therapeutic endpoint to demonstrate clinical proof-of-concept in patients with portal hypertension.

We are currently conducting an open label Phase 2a trial of OCA, called the PESTO trial, in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension in order to evaluate the ability of OCA to reduce HVPG in patients with end-stage liver disease. The primary endpoint of the trial is the reduction of HVPG after seven days of treatment by 15% or more, or to less than 12 mm Hg, a level at which the risk of adverse clinical outcomes has been shown to be significantly reduced. We presented results from a 10 mg dose group of the PESTO trial at the 2012 AASLD annual meeting. The results from the first 10 mg dose group showed that OCA was well tolerated in all twelve patients in the trial and five of eight patients who underwent portal circulation pressure assessments met the primary efficacy endpoint. A sixth patient experienced slightly more than a 14% reduction in HVPG. Importantly, patients who responded to OCA therapy with a reduction in HVPG did not experience a concomitant reduction in systemic blood pressure.

The PESTO trial is ongoing with a 25 mg dose of OCA currently being evaluated and another 10 mg dose group being tested at a second center. We anticipate completing the trial in the fourth quarter of 2013. We are utilizing the safety data from the PESTO trial to supplement our safety data set for our planned NDA and MAA filings for PBC to include the evaluation of OCA in patients with end-stage liver disease. If the PESTO trial supports the further development of OCA for the treatment of portal hypertension, we intend to initiate a placebo-controlled, randomized Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with portal hypertension for a longer treatment period. However, we will need to secure funding to continue to advance OCA beyond that point for this indication.

Potential Use of OCA to Treat Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

FXR activation has been shown to play a key role in the regulation of the metabolic pathways relevant to NASH, highlighting FXR as a potential drug target for treatment of the disease. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, is believed to be the most common chronic liver disease worldwide and we believe that more than 75 million patients are affected in the United States alone. The disease is associated with the Western diet, which is rich in processed foods with high fat and sugar content. NAFLD can lead to excessive fat accumulation in the liver, insulin resistance and increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A subset of approximately 30% of NAFLD patients develop NASH,

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which is a more serious liver disease. In these patients, for reasons that are still not completely understood, the fat build-up in the liver induces chronic inflammation which leads to progressive fibrosis that can lead to cirrhosis and liver failure.

NASH is currently diagnosed by liver biopsy. Studies have shown that at least 15% of NASH patients will develop liver cirrhosis over a ten to 15 year period. In the United States, the most recent epidemiological studies have concluded that more than 12% of the general population has NASH, while approximately 2.7%, or more than eight million patients, have advanced liver fibrosis or cirrhosis due to the disease. In the past decade, the proportion of liver transplants attributed to NASH increased from 1% to 10%, establishing NASH as the third leading and a rapidly increasing indication for liver transplant in the United States. The epidemiological data from other developed countries in Europe and Japan are similar, and NASH has also become a highly prevalent liver disease in developing countries such as India and China.

There are currently no drugs approved for the treatment of NAFLD or NASH. It has been reported that in 2010, there were approximately $615 million in off-label sales of various therapeutics for the treatment of NASH, such as insulin sensitizers (e.g., metformin), antihyperlipidemic agents (e.g., gemfibrozil), pentoxifylline and ursodiol. Lifestyle changes and exercise to reduce body weight and treatment of concomitant diabetes and dyslipidemia are accepted as the standard of care but have not conclusively been shown to prevent disease progression.

Ongoing Phase 2 Trial for NASH

OCA is currently being tested in a Phase 2b NASH trial, called the FLINT trial, which is testing a 25 mg single daily dose of OCA versus placebo in 280 patients with NASH. We are sponsoring the FLINT trial in collaboration with the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, or NIDDK, which oversees a clinical research network of eight leading NASH centers in the United States. The NIDDK submitted an IND to the FDA for OCA for the treatment of NASH in 2010. The primary endpoint in the 72-week double-blind FLINT trial is based on liver biopsy and is defined as an improvement of two or more points in the NAFLD activity score (a system of scoring the histopathological features in the liver) with no worsening of liver fibrosis. The NIDDK is providing the majority of funding for the trial.

In June 2012, the NIDDK’s data and safety monitoring board, or DSMB, for the FLINT trial completed an interim analysis and recommended that the trial should continue based on data from 101 patients who had completed at least 24 weeks and up to 15 months of the trial. The interim analysis reviewed the change from baseline in ALT levels as the efficacy criterion variable and all available safety data. Based on the recommendation of the DSMB, the NIDDK steering committee decided to continue the FLINT trial.

In November 2012, the NIDDK completed enrollment of the FLINT trial, achieving the target of 280 patients for this trial. We anticipate that final results will be available in late 2014. If this trial supports the further development of OCA as a treatment for NASH, we anticipate that we will need to secure additional funding to advance OCA for this indication.

In addition, our collaborator DSP has initiated a second Phase 2 NASH trial in Japan. This trial is evaluating the efficacy and safety of a once-daily dose of OCA as compared to placebo, with a targeted enrollment of 200 patients. This trial is anticipated to be completed in the first half of 2016.

Phase 2 Trial: OCA as Therapy in Type 2 Diabetic Patients with NAFLD

We have also completed a Phase 2 clinical trial of OCA in 64 type 2 diabetic patients with NAFLD. This double-blind, placebo-controlled trial tested 25 mg and 50 mg doses of OCA over a six-week period and assessed the effects of OCA on insulin sensitivity. The trial demonstrated that OCA therapy significantly improved insulin sensitivity both in the liver and peripheral tissues, thereby meeting the primary endpoint in the trial. Significant improvements in weight loss and reductions in liver enzymes such as GGT and ALT were also noted. The trial also showed that OCA was well-tolerated by the trial patients, with side effects no different than those reported on placebo (apart from mild constipation in the 50 mg group).

Potential Use of OCA to Treat Bile Acid Diarrhea

In July 2012, investigators at the Imperial College of London initiated enrollment of an open label Phase 2a trial, called the OBADIAH trial, to investigate whether OCA can stimulate fibroblast growth factor 19, or FGF19, in patients with PBAD. PBAD, also known as idiopathic bile acid malabsorption, is a common

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chronic diarrheal condition due to excessive bile acid loss. PBAD is estimated to affect approximately one percent of the population and about one-third of patients diagnosed with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS-D. Prior studies have shown these patients have low levels of FGF19, a protein hormone released by the ileum, under FXR control, which suppresses bile acid production by the liver. The resulting excess bile acids spill into the intestine where they produce diarrhea by stimulating intestinal secretion. FGF19 is synthesized in the small intestine under the direct regulation of FXR and we have shown in all three of our completed Phase 2 trials that OCA markedly stimulates the release of FGF19.

The primary outcome measure of the OBADIAH trial is to assess the change in FGF19 levels and symptom scores over a two-week period in ten patients with PBAD and in two control groups, one enrolling patients with secondary bile acid diarrhea due to Crohn’s disease and the other enrolling IBS-D patients who have normal FGF19 levels. The Imperial College of London is acting as the sponsor of the OBADIAH trial. The initial results from this trial in the PBAD group demonstrate that treatment with OCA is associated with a statistically significant improvement in clinical symptoms and levels of FGF19. An abstract based on initial results in the PBAD group from this study was accepted for presentation at the Digestive Diseases Week annual conference in May 2013. We currently anticipate that the enrollment for the OBADIAH trial will be completed in mid-2013 and that final results for all three study groups will be available in the second half of 2013. If this trial supports the further development of OCA as a treatment for PBAD, we anticipate that we will need to secure additional funding to advance OCA for this indication.

Other OCA Clinical Trials

The Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden is sponsoring and has initiated a Phase 2a pharmacodynamic trial of OCA in patients undergoing bariatric surgery or gallstone surgery, or the OCABSGS trial. The primary purpose of the trial is to evaluate the effects of OCA on bile acid, lipid and glucose turnover in 20 morbidly obese patients and 20 gallstone patients who will be administered a 25 mg dose of OCA once daily for three weeks prior to undergoing bariatric and gallstone surgery, respectively. We anticipate that the OCABSGS trial will be completed in 2014.

Other Potential Indications for OCA

We believe that OCA may have potential therapeutic application in other chronic diseases such as PSC, another autoimmune cholestatic liver disease; inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease and/or ulcerative colitis; biliary atresia, a pediatric disease characterized by deficient bile duct development; and Alagille Syndrome, a very rare genetic disorder that affects the liver and other organs. We anticipate that we will need to secure additional funding for the advancement of OCA for any of these indications.

Potential Future Product Candidates

In addition to OCA, we have other novel bile acid analog compounds targeting FXR and a second dedicated bile acid receptor called TGR5, which is a target of interest for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. We intend to continue advancing these and other product candidates as we build our pipeline, in some cases subject to the procurement of additional funding.

INT-767

INT-767 is an orally administered dual FXR and TGR5 agonist that, like OCA, is derived from the primary human bile acid CDCA. This product candidate has been shown to be approximately five-times more potent than OCA as an FXR agonist. In animal models of chronic liver, intestinal and kidney diseases, INT-767 has consistently demonstrated greater anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory effects than OCA. We own exclusive worldwide, royalty-free rights to INT-767.

We currently plan to advance INT-767 through the preclinical studies required to support the advancement of this product candidate to an IND, with an intended focus on developing it as a novel treatment for chronic kidney diseases, such as diabetic nephropathy, that involve progressive fibrosis leading to kidney failure. If the preclinical and Phase 1 clinical data support the advancement of INT-767 into Phase 2 clinical trials, we anticipate that we will need to secure additional funding for the further development of this compound.

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INT-777

INT-777 is an orally administered TGR5 agonist that is derived from the primary human bile acid cholic acid. We have completed the preclinical studies necessary for the filing of an IND. We own exclusive worldwide, royalty-free rights to INT-777. In order to advance this product candidate into clinical trials, we will need to secure additional funding and may seek a strategic collaborator.

Our in vitro studies of INT-777 showed that the product candidate has the potential to selectively target TGR5, a receptor that has been shown to directly regulate the release of glucagon like peptide-1, or GLP-1, in the intestine with resulting insulin sensitizing effects. There are several important and effective marketed drugs that enhance the effects of GLP-1 through different mechanisms, but none are able to induce the endogenous production of this hormone, and we believe there is interest in the potential for a TGR5 agonist to provide additive benefits. TGR5 has also been shown in animal models to regulate other metabolic pathways in brown fat and skeletal muscle that drive energy expenditure. The receptor may also play a role in the control of inflammation, which is increased in insulin resistant diabetic conditions.

In animal models of diabetes, treatment with INT-777 induced GLP-1 secretion, with resulting insulin sensitivity and normalization of glycemic control, increased basal energy expenditure and prevention of weight gain, and a reduction in blood lipid levels together with liver steatosis and fibrosis. We believe that these preclinical results could support further development of INT-777 and our other TGR5 agonists in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and associated metabolic disorders.

Strategic Collaborations and Research Arrangements

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma

On March 29, 2011, we entered into a license agreement with Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd., under which we granted DSP an exclusive license to research, develop and commercialize OCA as a therapeutic for the treatment of PBC and NASH in Japan and China (excluding Taiwan). Under the terms of the agreement, DSP is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize OCA in Japan and China for the treatment of PBC and NASH, and we are obligated under the agreement to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop OCA outside of Japan and China. DSP has agreed during the term of the agreement to not commercialize any compound that is a FXR agonist for use in the treatment of PBC or NASH other than pursuant to the agreement.

We granted DSP an option under the agreement to obtain an exclusive license to commercialize OCA for indications other than PBC and NASH on the same terms as are set forth in the agreement. DSP may exercise this option with respect to any indication at any time during the two-year period commencing on the date we notify DSP of the commencement of a Phase 3 clinical trial involving OCA for such indication, subject to DSP’s payment of an option fee for each additional indication. No option fee is required to be paid by DSP if it exercises its option for any additional indication only in China.

We also granted DSP an option under the agreement to add Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and/or Indonesia to its exclusive license on the same terms as are set forth in the agreement. DSP may exercise this option with respect to any such country at any time up until the date on which regulatory approval to commercialize OCA is granted in Japan, subject to DSP’s payment of an option fee for each country. We may not offer rights to a third party to develop and commercialize OCA in any of these countries for an agreed upon time period, and, if after this date, we accept or make a bona fide offer of exclusive rights to a third party to develop and commercialize OCA in any of these countries, we must first notify DSP and DSP has the right to exercise its option with respect to any such country. In addition, prior to accepting or making a bona fide offer of any exclusive development and commercialization rights involving OCA in the United States and Canada to a third party, we must first engage in good faith negotiations with DSP with respect to the grant to DSP of exclusive rights to develop and commercialize OCA in such countries.

DSP made an up-front payment to us in the amount of $15.0 million upon execution of the agreement. In addition, DSP may be required to pay us up to an aggregate of approximately $30.0 million for the achievement of development milestones, $70.0 million for the achievement of regulatory approval milestones and $200.0 million for the achievement of sales milestones based on aggregate sales amounts. DSP is also

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obligated to pay us tiered royalties ranging from the tens to the twenties in percent based on net sales of OCA products in Japan and the other Asian countries covered by this agreement. The term of the agreement, and DSP’s obligation to pay royalties to us for each OCA product, expires on a country-by-country basis on the later of the expiration of the exclusivity period in such country, whether through the expiration of applicable patents or the introduction of generic drugs that compete with the OCA product, or ten years after the first commercial sale of such OCA product for the first or second indication in that country. Royalty rates are subject to reduction under the agreement in specified circumstances, including, with respect to any country in the exclusive territory, if sales of generic products reach a certain threshold market share in that country over a specified period.

DSP may terminate the agreement in its entirety or on a country-by-country or indication by indication basis upon 90 days’ written notice. Either we or DSP may terminate the agreement in the event of the uncured material breach by or bankruptcy of the other party, subject to certain dispute resolution procedures. If DSP were to terminate the agreement for our material breach, it would have a perpetual license following the effective date of termination, subject to the payment by DSP of a royalty based on net sales of OCA products, the amount of which will depend on whether the effective date of termination occurs prior to or after the date of first commercial sale of an OCA product. If we were to terminate the agreement for DSP’s material breach or if DSP were to voluntarily terminate the agreement, DSP’s license under the agreement would terminate.

Les Laboratories Servier and Institut de Recherches Servier

On August 1, 2011, we entered into a research, development, license and commercialization agreement with Les Laboratories Servier and Institut De Recherches Servier, or Servier, under which we granted Servier the exclusive license to research, develop and commercialize novel TGR5 agonists (other than INT-767 and INT-777) for use in the treatment of diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis and reperfusion injury in all countries other than the United States and Japan, and Servier granted us an exclusive royalty-free license to research and develop such compounds for use in the treatment of diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis and reperfusion injury in the United States and Japan. Under the terms of the agreement, Servier is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop compounds outside the United States and Japan and we are required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop compounds in the United States and Japan.

We are obligated to conduct and are conducting a research program under the agreement to identify and optimize compounds that meet certain specified criteria sufficient for further development by Servier. The initial term of the research program is one year, subject to extension by mutual agreement. We are obligated under the agreement to provide Servier with a specified number of full time equivalent employees for the research program up to a specified maximum per year. In July 2012 and again in February 2013, we entered into amendments to this agreement to extend the term of the research program, which now expires on July 31, 2013, on the same financial terms as the original research program, including the reimbursement by Servier of the full time equivalent costs incurred by us in the conduct of the research program, up to a set maximum amount.

Servier has agreed to pay for the development costs we or Servier incur in conducting certain preclinical trials and clinical trials with respect to any compound that meets specified criteria. We have agreed to reimburse Servier up to a mid-double digit percentage of the total historical development costs incurred by Servier in relation to clinical development activities aimed at achieving regulatory approval in the European Union and the United States if we enter into a partnership agreement, or commence development or commercialization activities on our own, with respect to a compound in the United States. Servier may credit a portion of any such reimbursable development costs against any milestone or royalty payments due and payable by Servier under the agreement until all such reimbursable amounts are repaid. We have not incurred any such development costs since inception, and we do not anticipate incurring any such development costs during fiscal 2013. In addition, if we enter into a partnership agreement with respect to a compound developed under the agreement solely in Japan, we and Servier have agreed to enter into good faith negotiations regarding the terms and conditions applicable to the reimbursement of development costs. If we do not enter into a partnership agreement with respect to the compound in the United States or Japan within three years from the date regulatory approval is received for a compound in the European Union, Servier will have the first right to negotiate with us regarding the terms and conditions applicable to the grant to Servier of an exclusive license to develop and commercialize the product in the United States and/or Japan.

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We have the right to conduct clinical trials and obtain regulatory approvals involving compounds developed under the agreement at our sole expense in the United States and Japan, and Servier has the right to conduct clinical trials and obtain regulatory approvals involving compounds developed under the agreement at its sole expense in all other countries. We and Servier have agreed during the term of the research program not to research or develop any TGR5 agonist and, during the term of the agreement, not to commercialize any TGR5 agonist covered by the agreement other than pursuant to the agreement. However, this provision does not restrict us from developing INT-767 and INT-777.

Servier has made an up-front payment to us in the amount of €1.0 million upon execution of the agreement and has agreed to reimburse us for a portion of the full time equivalent costs incurred by us in the conduct of the research program, up to a set maximum amount. In addition, Servier may be required to pay us up to an aggregate of approximately €8.5 million for the achievement of development milestones, €10.0 million for the achievement of regulatory submission and approval milestones and €90.0 million for the achievement of sales milestones based on aggregate sales amounts. Servier is also obligated to pay us tiered single digit percentage royalties based on net sales of products developed under the agreement on a country-by-country basis. Servier’s obligation to pay royalties for each product expires on a country-by-country basis upon the later of the expiration of the last to expire patent licensed by us that covers the product and ten years from the date of first commercial sale of that product. Royalty rates are subject to reduction under the agreement in specified circumstances, including with respect to any country if sales of generic products reach a certain threshold in that country.

The agreement expires when no payment obligations are or will become due. Servier may terminate the agreement at any time for any reason or if we consummate a change of control transaction. Either we or Servier may terminate the agreement in the event of the uncured material breach or insolvency of the other party. Upon the termination of the agreement by Servier for our material breach or insolvency, Servier may, at its election, have its license from us under the agreement become perpetual and royalty-free following the effective date of termination. Upon termination of the agreement by Servier without cause, we will maintain our rights to the technology licensed to Servier outside of the United States and Japan and Servier will pay us the balance of any unpaid funding under the research program. Upon the termination of the agreement by us for Servier’s material breach or insolvency, we may, at our election, have our license from Servier under the agreement become perpetual following the effective date of termination.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

In July 2010, we entered into a cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, with the NIDDK, a division within the National Institutes of Health, to conduct our ongoing Phase 2b FLINT trial for the treatment of NASH with OCA. In June 2012, the DSMB for the FLINT trial completed an interim analysis and recommended that the trial should continue based on data from 101 patients who had completed at least 24 weeks and up to 15 months of the trial. The interim analysis reviewed the change from baseline in ALT levels as the efficacy criterion variable and all available safety data. The primary endpoint of the FLINT trial is based on liver biopsy. Based on the recommendation of the DSMB, the NIDDK steering committee decided to continue the FLINT trial. In November 2012, the NIDDK completed enrollment of the FLINT trial, achieving the target of 280 NASH patients for this trial.

The NIDDK is providing the majority of funding for the trial. In accordance with the terms of the CRADA, we have made payments of $3.0 million to date and no further payments are required under the agreement.

Under the terms of the CRADA, any inventions under the CRADA will be owned by the party that produced such inventions. However, any inventions jointly developed by the parties will be jointly owned. We will have the first opportunity to file patent applications in respect of any jointly developed inventions under the CRADA. If we do not exercise our rights, the NIDDK will be able to file a patent application in respect of such inventions.

The CRADA provides that we have an exclusive option to an exclusive or nonexclusive commercialization license on any inventions made solely by the NIDDK under the CRADA. The U.S. government has also been granted a worldwide, nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license in

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respect of any subject inventions under the CRADA, including inventions made solely by us to the extent that such license is for research or other government purposes.

The CRADA has a term of four years, ending in July 2014. The parties to the CRADA may terminate the CRADA by mutual written consent. Either party may terminate the CRADA at any time by providing 60 days prior written notice to the other party. However, if we unilaterally terminate the CRADA, the NIDDK may be entitled to retain any funds transferred to the NIDDK under the CRADA and, unless the termination was for safety reasons, we may be required to supply sufficient quantities of OCA and placebos to complete the trial. We have agreed that the NIDDK may continue developing OCA if we suspend the development of OCA without transferring our development efforts, assets and obligations to a third party within 90 days of discontinuation. In such circumstances, we would also be required to grant a nonexclusive, irrevocable worldwide, paid up license for any of our inventions relating to OCA, its manufacture and any method of use of OCA for the treatment of NASH, including the right to sublicense.

If the FLINT trial supports the further development of OCA for NASH, we anticipate that we will need to secure additional funding for the further development of OCA in NASH.

University of Perugia and Professor Roberto Pellicciari

On January 1, 2012, we entered into a sponsored research agreement with the University of Perugia and Professor Roberto Pellicciari, whom we refer to as the Research Parties, to research and realize improvements to the process for synthesizing and supplying gram scale reference standard quantities of OCA, INT-767 and INT-777. Professor Pellicciari is one of our founders.

Pursuant to this agreement, we are obligated to pay the University of Perugia an aggregate of €80,000 during the term of the agreement in quarterly installments of €20,000.

Under the terms of the sponsored research agreement, we have been assigned all rights, title and interest in patent rights and technology upon creation related to the research project, effective as of the date of creation. We have the right and final decision-making ability as to the filing, prosecution or maintenance of all patents or patent applications covering any patent rights or technology developed through the agreement. The Research Parties are required to promptly and fully disclose to us in writing any invention conceived and/or reduced to practice in the conduct of the agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, we have a right of first refusal to negotiate terms to expand the agreement prior to the end of its term, or upon renewal, to include certain other research programs.

The sponsored research agreement has a term of one year from the date of execution. Since the expiration of the previous term on December 31, 2012, we have been ascertaining our specific requirements concerning the supply of certain reference standards relating to OCA, INT-767 and INT-777 and we are currently negotiating a revised agreement to provide for their supply. Either we or the Research Parties may terminate the agreement in the event of the uncured material breach of the other party after receipt of notice in writing of such breach from the other party. If the agreement is terminated by the Research Parties for a material breach by us during any quarterly period, the agreement provides that the Research Parties will be entitled to all rights, title and interest in and to the patent rights and technology created and assigned to us during that quarterly period. If the agreement is terminated by us for a material breach by the Research Parties, the agreement provides that all funds paid by us to the Research Parties not expended or irrevocably committed upon the effective date of termination will be refunded to us. Also, Professor Pellicciari will be required to return all materials and tangible documentation containing confidential information. We may also terminate the agreement if Professor Pellicciari is unable or unwilling to continue to conduct research or otherwise perform his obligations under the agreement.

TES Pharma Srl

On August 1, 2011, we entered into a research and development agreement with TES Pharma Srl, or TES, to conduct research and development activities for our TGR5 program. The research program is managed by Professor Roberto Pellicciari, who is an owner of TES.

We are required under the agreement to pay TES an aggregate amount of €250,000 each quarter during the term of the agreement. Payments will be made on a quarterly basis. The agreement provides that any funds paid to TES that have not been expended or irrevocably committed will be refunded to us.

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Under the terms of the agreement, any inventions created in connection with the activities performed under the agreement will be our sole and exclusive property and all original works of authorship made by TES within the scope of the project that are protectable by copyright are works made for hire. TES has agreed to assign to us all of its rights, titles and interests in all inventions and other intellectual property rights under the agreement.

The agreement has a term of one year unless we, in our sole discretion, extend the term of this agreement for one additional year on the same terms and conditions as the current agreement. In July 2012 and February 2013, we entered into amendments to extend the term of this agreement, which now expires on July 31, 2013, in conjunction with the extension of the term of our research program with Servier, on the same financial terms as our original agreement with TES. Either we or TES may terminate the agreement in the event of an uncured material breach after receipt of written notice in of such breach from the other party. If we terminate the agreement for a material breach by TES, any funds paid to TES that have not been expended or irrevocably committed by them will be returned to us. TES is also obligated to deliver to us all remaining compounds and tangible documentation containing confidential information upon our request. If the agreement is terminated by TES for a material breach by us, TES is entitled to the balance of payments owed to them once the appropriate quarterly reports have been submitted to us.

Consulting Agreements with Professor Pellicciari

Servier TGR5 Agonists

On August 1, 2011, we entered into a consulting agreement with Professor Roberto Pellicciari to provide scientific guidance for a research program relating to selective or non-selective TGR5 agonists to be undertaken by TES and to supervise and coordinate this research program. Professor Pellicciari will also act as our designated representative on a joint steering committee formed pursuant to our collaboration agreement with Servier.

The agreement provides that Professor Pellicciari will receive compensation at an annual rate of €150,000 for his services during the term of the agreement in quarterly installments of €37,500. The agreement also provides that Professor Pellicciari will be eligible for a €50,000 performance bonus based on the success of the research collaboration. The performance bonus is a discretionary bonus based upon our assessment of the success of the initial work performed under the collaboration, as extended. No such bonus has been agreed upon by the parties as of December 31, 2012.

Under the terms of the agreement, all inventions created in connection with the activities performed under the agreement are our sole and exclusive property and all original works of authorship made by Professor Pellicciari that are protectable by copyright are works made for hire. Professor Pellicciari has also assigned to us all rights, title and interest in all inventions and any other intellectual property rights created under the agreement from January 1, 2011 through the end of its term. Professor Pellicciari must provide timely written notice of any inventions that he develops during the term of the agreement.

The agreement has a term of one year. However, at our sole discretion, we may extend the term of the agreement by one additional year. In July 2012 and February 2013, we entered into amendments to extend the term of this agreement, which now expires on July 31, 2013, in conjunction with the extension of the term of our research program with Servier, on the same financial terms as our original consulting agreement with Professor Pellicciari. Either we or Professor Pellicciari may terminate the agreement in the event of a material breach by the other party that is not remedied within 30 days after receipt of written notice of such breach from the other party.

OCA, INT-767 and INT-777

On January 1, 2012, we entered into a consulting agreement with Professor Pellicciari to provide scientific guidance for our research program relating to OCA, INT-767 and INT-777 and to supervise and coordinate this research program.

The agreement provides that Professor Pellicciari will receive compensation at an annual rate of €100,000 for his services during the term of the agreement in quarterly installments of €25,000.

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Under the terms of the agreement, all inventions created in connection with the activities performed under the agreement are our sole and exclusive property and all original works of authorship made by Professor Pellicciari that are protectable by copyright are works made for hire. Professor Pellicciari has also assigned to us all rights, title and interest in all inventions and any other intellectual property rights created under the agreement. Professor Pellicciari must provide timely written notice of any inventions that he develops during the term of the agreement.

The agreement has a term of one year. However, at our sole discretion, we may extend the term of the agreement by one additional year. We are currently contemplating the extension of this agreement in conjunction with our negotiations with Professor Pellicciari and the University of Perugia regarding the revised agreement to supply us with reference standards relating to OCA, INT-767 and INT-777. Either we or Professor Pellicciari may terminate the agreement in the event of a material breach by the other party that is not remedied within 30 days after receipt of written notice of such breach from the other party.

WIL Research Laboratories, LLC

On October 2, 2007, we entered into a master laboratory services agreement with WIL Research Laboratories, LLC, or WIL, to perform certain research and laboratory services. The agreement was amended on October 28, 2011.

On November 16, 2011, we finalized work orders with WIL for the FDA-required studies in mice and rats to investigate the presence or absence of carcinogenic potential of OCA. We have agreed to pay WIL an aggregate of $4.0 million for the studies, consisting of a combination of quarterly installment payments of approximately $300,000 and milestone payments totaling approximately $400,000 upon delivery of final result reports. If additional costs are incurred beyond the amounts specified in the work orders, we have agreed to pay such reasonable additional costs upon receipt of proper invoice. We anticipate that the studies will continue through completion, all milestones will be satisfied and that we will pay to WIL an aggregate of $4.0 million under this agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, we own all work product and data prepared or generated by WIL in the course of its services, assuming our payment of all required amounts specified in the contract. We have no property rights in WIL’s intellectual property.

The agreement has a term ending on October 2, 2013, which automatically extends for successive one year periods, unless either party gives written notice to the other party at least 60 days prior to the end of the current term. Either we or WIL may terminate the agreement upon 90 days written notice. However, if a work order pertaining to the ongoing studies is outstanding, WIL may not terminate the agreement with 90 days written notice until the work order has been completed or otherwise terminated.

Commercialization

Given our stage of development, we have not yet fully established a commercial organization or distribution capabilities. In the United States and Europe, due to the rare nature of PBC and the limited options for treatment, patients suffering from PBC and their physicians often have a high degree of organization and are well informed, which may make it easier to identify target populations if and when OCA is approved. The market for the treatment of PBC is a specialty care market driven by key opinion leaders. Most patients with PBC are treated at a limited number of academic centers or otherwise by physicians who specialize in the treatment of liver disease. If OCA is approved for the treatment of patients with PBC, we believe that it will be possible to commercialize OCA for this indication with a relatively small specialty sales force that calls on a limited and focused group of physicians.

Our current plan is to commercialize OCA for PBC ourselves in the United States and Europe if it is approved. We have started the initial phase of assessing our commercial strategy. We anticipate that our commercialization efforts will include both our internal commercial organization and contract reimbursement specialists, sales people and medical education specialists, and other outside resources. Outside of the United States and Europe, subject to obtaining necessary marketing approvals, we likely will seek to commercialize OCA through distribution or other collaboration arrangements for PBC. As a result of our ongoing clinical work, we have been engaged in dialogue with specialists who treat patients with PBC. We believe that these activities have provided us with a growing knowledge of the physicians we plan to target for commercial

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launch of OCA for PBC, subject to marketing approval in the United States and Europe. In March 2011, we exclusively licensed rights to OCA to DSP in Japan and China, along with an option to expand this exclusive license into certain other Asian countries. If we pursue approval for OCA in more prevalent liver diseases such as NASH, we would plan to do so selectively either on our own or by establishing collaborations with one or more pharmaceutical companies.

Competition

The biopharmaceutical industry is characterized by intense competition and rapid innovation. Although we believe that we hold a leading position in bile acid chemistry, our competitors may be able to develop other compounds or drugs that are able to achieve similar or better results. Our potential competitors include major multinational pharmaceutical companies, established biotechnology companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and universities and other research institutions. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large, established companies. We believe the key competitive factors that will affect the development and commercial success of our product candidates are efficacy, safety and tolerability profile, reliability, convenience of dosing, price and reimbursement.

Our most advanced product candidate, OCA, is currently being developed as a second line treatment for PBC. Currently, ursodiol is the only therapy that is approved for the treatment of PBC. Although there are currently no other drugs approved for the treatment of PBC, we are aware of other companies, including Eli Lilly, Exelixis, Inc. and Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG that have FXR agonists in Phase 1 or earlier stages of preclinical development that could be used to treat PBC and the other liver diseases we are targeting. In addition, Johnson & Johnson and NovImmune SA are each currently conducting Phase 2a proof-of-concept open label clinical trials of monoclonal antibodies as potential treatments for PBC. Finally, Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH, which markets ursodiol, is conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial of combination ursodiol and budesonide, a steroid, as a treatment for PBC.

For the treatment of portal hypertension, the only therapeutic products available are beta blockers, which clinical studies have shown are effective only in approximately 25% to 33% of patients, while having significant safety issues. We are aware of only one other company, Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH, which has a new product candidate in Phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of portal hypertension.

There are currently no therapeutic products approved for the treatment of NASH or NAFLD. There are several marketed therapeutics that are currently used off label for the treatment of NASH, such as insulin sensitizers (e.g., metformin), antihyperlipidemic agents (e.g., gemfibrozil), pentoxifylline and ursodiol, but none has been clearly shown in clinical trials to alter the course of the disease. We are aware of several companies that have product candidates in Phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of NASH, including Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH, Galmed Medical Research Ltd., Immuron Ltd., Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., NasVax Ltd. and Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp., and there are other companies with candidates in earlier stage programs. In addition, it is possible that one or more of the FXR agonist product candidates mentioned above that are being developed by our competitors could be used for the treatment of NASH.

For the treatment of PBAD, bile acid binding resins such as cholestyramine are currently used as the only available targeted therapy. Patients with this disease represent a subset of patients diagnosed with IBS-D, and we are aware of several companies with product candidates in Phase 2 or 3 clinical development for the treatment of IBS-D, including Astellas Pharma US, Inc., AstraZeneca, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Tioga Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In addition, there are several marketed products indicated for the treatment of IBS-D, including GlaxoSmithKline’s Lotronex and the over-the-counter product Imodium.

We believe that OCA offers key potential advantages over ursodiol and other products in development that could enable OCA, if approved for these indications, to capture meaningful market share. However, many of our potential competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and human resources than we do, as well as greater experience in the discovery and development of product candidates, obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals of products and the commercialization of those products. Accordingly, our competitors may be more successful than us in obtaining approval from the FDA or from other regulators for drugs and achieving widespread market acceptance. Our competitors’ drugs may be more effective, or more effectively marketed and sold, than any product candidate we may commercialize and may render our product candidates

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obsolete or non-competitive before we can recover the expenses of their development and commercialization. We anticipate that we will face intense and increasing competition as new drugs enter the market and other advanced technologies become available. Finally, the development of new treatment methods for the diseases we are targeting could render our product candidates non-competitive or obsolete.

Intellectual Property

The proprietary nature of, and protection for, our product candidates and our discovery programs, processes and know-how are important to our business. We have sought patent protection in the United States and internationally for OCA, INT-767 and INT-777, and our discovery programs, and any other inventions to which we have rights, where available and when appropriate. Our policy is to pursue, maintain and defend patent rights, whether developed internally or licensed from third parties, and to protect the technology, inventions and improvements that are commercially important to the development of our business. We also rely on trade secrets that may be important to the development of our business.

Our commercial success will depend in part on obtaining and maintaining patent protection and trade secret protection of our current and future product candidates and the methods used to develop and manufacture them, as well as successfully defending these patents against third-party challenges. Our ability to stop third parties from making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing our products depends on the extent to which we have rights under valid and enforceable patents or trade secrets that cover these activities. We cannot be sure that patents will be granted with respect to any of our pending patent applications or with respect to any patent applications filed by us in the future, nor can we be sure that any of our existing patents or any patents that may be granted to us in the future will be commercially useful in protecting our product candidates, discovery programs and processes. For this and more comprehensive risks related to our intellectual property, please see Item 1.A,“Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Intellectual Property.”

OCA (formerly called INT-747) (first-in-class FXR agonist)

The patent portfolio for OCA contains patents and patent applications directed to compositions of matter, manufacturing methods, and methods of use. As of March 15, 2013, we owned five U.S. patents, four pending U.S. patent applications, and corresponding foreign patents and patent applications. Foreign patents have been granted in Europe, Norway, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Australia, Japan, Canada, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. We expect the composition of matter patent, if the appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees are paid, to expire in 2022 (worldwide). It is possible that the term of the composition of matter patent in the United States may be extended up to five additional years under the provisions of the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, or the Hatch-Waxman Act. Patent term extension may be available in certain foreign countries upon regulatory approval. We expect the other patents and patent applications in the portfolio, if issued, and if the appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity, or other governmental fees are paid, to expire from 2022 to 2028.

INT-767 (dual FXR/TGR5 agonist)

The patent portfolio for INT-767 contains a patent and patent applications directed to compositions of matter and methods of use. As of March 15, 2013, we owned one U.S. patent, three pending U.S. patent applications, and corresponding foreign patent applications have been filed in Australia, Canada, China, Europe, India, Israel, Japan and Hong Kong. We expect the issued composition of matter patent in the U.S., if the appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees are paid, to expire in 2029. It is possible that the term of the composition of matter patent in the United States may be extended up to five additional years under the provisions of the Hatch-Waxman Act. We expect the pending foreign patent applications in the portfolio, if issued, and if the appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity, or other governmental fees are paid, to expire in 2027. Patent term extension may be available in certain foreign countries upon regulatory approval. We have received assignments of rights to the INT-767 patent portfolio from all inventors, other than one inventor. That inventor is contractually obligated to provide an assignment to us. We believe that we are the owner of the INT-767 patent portfolio by virtue of this contractual obligation and the other patent assignments we have received.

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INT-777 (TGR5 agonist)

The patent portfolio for INT-777 contains a patent and patent applications directed to compositions of matter and methods of use. As of March 15, 2013, we owned one U.S. patent, two pending U.S. patent applications, and corresponding foreign patent applications have been filed in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Eurasia, Europe, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa and Hong Kong. We expect the composition of matter patent in the United States, if the appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees are paid, to expire in 2030. It is possible that the term of the composition of matter patent in the United States may be extended up to five additional years under the provisions of the Hatch-Waxman Act. We expect the corresponding foreign patent applications and other patent applications in the portfolio, if issued, and if the appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity, or other governmental fees are paid, to expire from 2028 to 2029. Patent term extension may be available in certain foreign countries upon regulatory approval.

Trade Secrets

In addition to patents, we rely on trade secrets and know-how to develop and maintain our competitive position. Trade secrets and know-how can be difficult to protect. We seek to protect our proprietary processes, in part, by confidentiality agreements and invention assignment agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors, contractors and commercial partners. These agreements are designed to protect our proprietary information. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data, trade secrets and know-how by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems.

Manufacturing

We do not own or operate manufacturing facilities for the production of any of our product candidates, nor do we have plans to develop our own manufacturing operations in the foreseeable future. We currently rely on third-party contract manufacturers for all of our required raw materials, active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API, and finished product for our preclinical research and clinical trials, including the Phase 3 trials for OCA for the treatment of PBC. We are currently seeking to contract to qualify a back-up API manufacturer. We do not have long-term agreements with any of these third parties. We also do not have any current contractual relationships for the manufacture of commercial supplies of any of our product candidates if they are approved. As OCA and any of our other product candidates continue to progress towards potential regulatory approval, we intend to enter into agreements with a third-party contract manufacturer and one or more back-up manufacturers for the commercial production of those products. Development and commercial quantities of any products that we develop will need to be manufactured in facilities, and by processes, that comply with the requirements of the FDA and the regulatory agencies of other jurisdictions in which we are seeking approval. We currently employ internal resources to manage our manufacturing contractors.

Government Regulation and Product Approval

Governmental authorities in the United States, at the federal, state and local level, and other countries extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, labeling, packaging, promotion, storage, advertising, distribution, marketing and export and import of products such as those we are developing. Our product candidates must be approved by the FDA through the NDA process before they may be legally marketed in the United States and by the EMA through the MAA process before they may be legally marketed in Europe. Our product candidates will be subject to similar requirements in other countries prior to marketing in those countries. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with applicable federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources.

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United States Government Regulation

NDA Approval Processes

In the United States, the FDA regulates drugs under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or the FDCA, and implementing regulations. Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process or approval process, or after approval, may subject an applicant to administrative or judicial sanctions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on us. These sanctions could include:

The process required by the FDA before a drug may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following:

Once a pharmaceutical candidate is identified for development, it enters the preclinical or nonclinical testing stage. Nonclinical tests include laboratory evaluations of product chemistry, toxicity and formulation, as well as animal studies. An IND sponsor must submit the results of the nonclinical tests, together with manufacturing information and analytical data, to the FDA as part of the IND. Some nonclinical testing may continue even after the IND is submitted. In addition to including the results of the nonclinical studies, the IND will also include a protocol detailing, among other things, the objectives of the clinical trial, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated if the first phase lends itself to an efficacy determination. The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA, within the 30-day time period, places the IND on clinical hold. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before clinical trials can begin. A clinical hold may occur at any time during the life of an IND, and may affect one or more specific studies or all studies conducted under the IND.

All clinical trials must be conducted under the supervision of one or more qualified investigators in accordance with GCPs. They must be conducted under protocols detailing the objectives of the trial, dosing procedures, research subject selection and exclusion criteria and the safety and effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. Each protocol must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND, and progress reports detailing the status of the clinical trials must be submitted to the FDA annually. Sponsors also must timely report to FDA serious and unexpected adverse reactions, any clinically important increase in the rate of a serious suspected

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adverse reaction over that listed in the protocol or investigation brochure, or any findings from other studies or animal or in vitro testing that suggest a significant risk in humans exposed to the drug. An institutional review board, or IRB, at each institution participating in the clinical trial must review and approve the protocol before a clinical trial commences at that institution and must also approve the information regarding the trial and the consent form that must be provided to each research subject or the subject’s legal representative, monitor the study until completed and otherwise comply with IRB regulations.

Human clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases that may overlap or be combined:

Human clinical trials are inherently uncertain and Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 testing may not be successfully completed. The FDA or the sponsor may suspend a clinical trial at any time for a variety of reasons, including a finding that the research subjects or patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the drug has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients.

During the development of a new drug, sponsors are given opportunities to meet with the FDA at certain points. These points may be prior to the submission of an IND, at the end of Phase 2 and before an NDA is submitted. Meetings at other times may be requested. These meetings can provide an opportunity for the sponsor to share information about the data gathered to date and for the FDA to provide advice on the next phase of development. Sponsors typically use the meeting at the end of Phase 2 to discuss their Phase 2 clinical results and present their plans for the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial that they believe will support the approval of the new drug. If a Phase 2 clinical trial is the subject of discussion at the end of Phase 2 meeting with the FDA, a sponsor may be able to request a Special Protocol Assessment, or SPA, the purpose of which is to reach agreement with the FDA on the Phase 3 clinical trial protocol design and analysis that will form the primary basis of an efficacy claim.

According to published guidance on the SPA process, a sponsor which meets the prerequisites may make a specific request for a SPA and provide information regarding the design and size of the proposed clinical trial. The FDA is supposed to evaluate the protocol within 45 days of the request to assess whether the proposed trial is adequate, and that evaluation may result in discussions and a request for additional information. A SPA request must be made before the proposed trial begins, and all open issues must be resolved before the trial begins. If a written agreement is reached, it will be documented and made part of the record. The agreement will be binding on the FDA and may not be changed by the sponsor or the FDA after the trial begins except with the written agreement of the sponsor and the FDA or if the FDA determines that a substantial scientific issue essential to determining the safety or efficacy of the drug was identified after the testing began.

Concurrent with clinical trials, sponsors usually complete additional animal safety studies and also develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the drug and finalize a process for manufacturing commercial quantities of the product in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the drug and the manufacturer must develop methods for testing the quality, purity and potency of the drug. Additionally,

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appropriate packaging must be selected and tested and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the drug candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its proposed shelf-life.

The results of product development, nonclinical studies and clinical trials, along with descriptions of the manufacturing process, analytical tests and other control mechanisms, proposed labeling and other relevant information are submitted to the FDA as part of an NDA requesting approval to market the product. The submission of an NDA is subject to the payment of user fees, but a waiver of such fees may be obtained under specified circumstances. The FDA reviews all NDAs submitted to ensure that they are sufficiently complete for substantive review before it accepts them for filing. It may request additional information rather than accept an NDA for filing. In this event, the NDA must be resubmitted with the additional information. The resubmitted application also is subject to review before the FDA accepts it for filing.

Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth review. NDAs receive either standard or priority review. A drug representing a significant improvement in treatment, prevention or diagnosis of disease may receive priority review. The FDA may refuse to approve an NDA if the applicable regulatory criteria are not satisfied or may require additional clinical or other data. Even if such data are submitted, the FDA may ultimately decide that the NDA does not satisfy the criteria for approval. The FDA reviews an NDA to determine, among other things, whether a product is safe and effective for its intended use and whether its manufacturing is cGMP-compliant. The FDA may refer the NDA to an advisory committee for review and recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendation of an advisory committee, but it generally follows such recommendations. Before approving an NDA, the FDA will inspect the facility or facilities where the product is manufactured and tested.

Expedited Review and Approval

The FDA has various programs, including Fast Track, priority review, and accelerated approval, which are intended to expedite or simplify the process for reviewing drugs, and/or provide for the approval of a drug on the basis of a surrogate endpoint. Even if a drug qualifies for one or more of these programs, the FDA may later decide that the drug no longer meets the conditions for qualification or that the time period for FDA review or approval will be shortened. Generally, drugs that are eligible for these programs are those for serious or life-threatening conditions, those with the potential to address unmet medical needs and those that offer meaningful benefits over existing treatments. For example, Fast Track is a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions and fill unmet medical needs. Priority review is designed to give drugs that offer major advances in treatment or provide a treatment where no adequate therapy exists an initial review within six months as compared to a standard review time of ten months. Although Fast Track and priority review do not affect the standards for approval, the FDA will attempt to facilitate early and frequent meetings with a sponsor of a Fast Track designated drug and expedite review of the application for a drug designated for priority review. Accelerated approval, which is described in Subpart H of 21 CFR Part 314, provides for an earlier approval for a new drug that is intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and that fills an unmet medical need based on a surrogate endpoint. A surrogate endpoint is a laboratory measurement or physical sign used as an indirect or substitute measurement representing a clinically meaningful outcome. As a condition of approval, the FDA may require that a sponsor of a drug candidate receiving accelerated approval perform post-marketing clinical trials.

In the recently enacted Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, or FDASIA, Congress encouraged the FDA to utilize innovative and flexible approaches to the assessment of products under accelerated approval. The law requires the FDA to issue related draft guidance within a year after the law’s enactment and also promulgate confirming regulatory changes. For example, sponsors may request that their drug be designated as a Breakthrough Therapy. A request for Breakthrough Therapy designation should be submitted concurrently with, or as an amendment to an IND. FDA is in the process of developing guidance related to this designation, but in the interim has posted on its website criteria that should be followed and has already granted the designation to several new drugs.

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We currently plan to seek accelerated approval of OCA for the treatment of PBC assuming satisfactory achievement of a surrogate endpoint in our Phase 3 POISE trial that we believe is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. We also intend to have commenced a clinical outcomes trial to confirm clinical benefit at the time of the NDA submission which we plan to complete on a post-marketing basis if the NDA is approved.

Patent Term Restoration and Marketing Exclusivity

Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of FDA approval of the use of our drug candidates, some of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, referred to as the Hatch-Waxman Act. The Hatch-Waxman Act permits a patent restoration term of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during product development and the FDA regulatory review process. However, patent term restoration cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the product’s approval date. The patent term restoration period is generally one-half the time between the effective date of an IND, and the submission date of an NDA, plus the time between the submission date of an NDA and the approval of that application. Only one patent applicable to an approved drug is eligible for the extension and the application for extension must be made prior to expiration of the patent. The United States Patent and Trademark Office, in consultation with the FDA, reviews and approves the application for any patent term extension or restoration. In the future, we intend to apply for restorations of patent term for some of our currently owned or licensed patents to add patent life beyond their current expiration date, depending on the expected length of clinical trials and other factors involved in the submission of the relevant NDA.

Market exclusivity provisions under the FDCA also can delay the submission or the approval of certain applications. The FDCA provides a five-year period of non-patent marketing exclusivity within the United States to the first applicant to gain approval of an NDA for a new chemical entity. A drug is a new chemical entity if the FDA has not previously approved any other new drug containing the same active moiety, which is the molecule or ion responsible for the action of the drug substance. During the exclusivity period, the FDA may not accept for review an abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA, or a 505(b)(2) NDA submitted by another company for another version of such drug where the applicant does not own or have a legal right of reference to all the data required for approval. However, an application may be submitted after four years if it contains a certification of patent invalidity or non-infringement. The FDCA also provides three years of marketing exclusivity for an NDA, 505(b)(2) NDA or supplement to an approved NDA if new clinical investigations, other than bioavailability studies, that were conducted or sponsored by the applicant are deemed by the FDA to be essential to the approval of the application, for example, for new indications, dosages or strengths of an existing drug. This three-year exclusivity covers only the conditions associated with the new clinical investigations and does not prohibit the FDA from approving ANDAs for drugs containing the original active agent. Five-year and three-year exclusivity will not delay the submission or approval of a full NDA; however, an applicant submitting a full NDA would be required to conduct or obtain a right of reference to all of the preclinical studies and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials necessary to demonstrate safety and effectiveness.

Orphan Drug Designation

Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan drug designation to drugs intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States, or more than 200,000 individuals in the United States and for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making available in the United States a drug for this type of disease or condition will be recovered from sales in the United States for that drug. Orphan drug designation must be requested before submitting an NDA. After the FDA grants orphan drug designation, the identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in or shorten the duration of the regulatory review and approval process.

If a product that has orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the disease for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity, which means that the FDA may not approve any other applications to market the same drug for the same indication, except in very limited circumstances, for seven years. Orphan drug exclusivity, however, could also block the approval of one of our products for seven years if a competitor obtains approval of the same drug as defined by the FDA or if our drug candidate is determined to be contained within the competitor’s product for the same indication or disease.

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Pediatric Exclusivity and Pediatric Use

Under the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, or BPCA, certain drugs may obtain an additional six months of exclusivity, if the sponsor submits information requested in writing by the FDA, or a Written Request, relating to the use of the active moiety of the drug in children. The FDA may not issue a Written Request for studies on unapproved or approved indications or where it determines that information relating to the use of a drug in a pediatric population, or part of the pediatric population, may not produce health benefits in that population.

We have not received a Written Request for such pediatric studies, although we may ask the FDA to issue a Written Request for such studies in the future. To receive the six-month pediatric market exclusivity, we would have to receive a Written Request from the FDA, conduct the requested studies in accordance with a written agreement with the FDA or, if there is no written agreement, in accordance with commonly accepted scientific principles, and submit reports of the studies. A Written Request may include studies for indications that are not currently in the labeling if the FDA determines that such information will benefit the public health. The FDA will accept the reports upon its determination that the studies were conducted in accordance with and are responsive to the original Written Request or commonly accepted scientific principles, as appropriate, and that the reports comply with the FDA’s filing requirements.

In addition, the Pediatric Research Equity Act, or PREA, requires a sponsor to conduct pediatric studies for most drugs and biologicals, for a new active ingredient, new indication, new dosage form, new dosing regimen or new route of administration. Under PREA, original NDAs, biologics license application and supplements thereto, must contain a pediatric assessment unless the sponsor has received a deferral or waiver. The required assessment must assess the safety and effectiveness of the product for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations and support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the product is safe and effective. The sponsor or FDA may request a deferral of pediatric studies for some or all of the pediatric subpopulations. A deferral may be granted for several reasons, including a finding that the drug or biologic is ready for approval for use in adults before pediatric studies are complete or that additional safety or effectiveness data needs to be collected before the pediatric studies begin. After April 2013, the FDA must send a non-compliance letter to any sponsor that fails to submit the required assessment, keep a deferral current or fails to submit a request for approval of a pediatric formulation.

As part of the FDASIA, Congress made a few revisions to BPCA and PREA, which were slated to expire on September 30, 2012, and made both laws permanent.

Post-approval Requirements

Once an approval is granted, the FDA may withdraw the approval if compliance with regulatory requirements is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product may result in restrictions on the product or even complete withdrawal of the product from the market. After approval, some types of changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications, manufacturing changes and additional labeling claims, are subject to further FDA review and approval. In addition, the FDA may require testing and surveillance programs to monitor the effect of approved products that have been commercialized, and the FDA has the power to prevent or limit further marketing of a product based on the results of these post-marketing programs.

Any drug products manufactured or distributed by us pursuant to FDA approvals are subject to continuing regulation by the FDA, including, among other things:

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Drug manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of approved drugs are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and some state agencies for compliance with cGMP and other laws.

We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties for the production of clinical and commercial quantities of our products. Future FDA and state inspections may identify compliance issues at the facilities of our contract manufacturers that may disrupt production or distribution, or require substantial resources to correct.

From time to time, legislation is drafted, introduced and passed in Congress that could significantly change the statutory provisions governing the approval, manufacturing and marketing of products regulated by the FDA. In addition, FDA regulations and guidance are often revised or reinterpreted by the agency in ways that may significantly affect our business and our products. It is impossible to predict whether legislative changes will be enacted, or FDA regulations, guidance or interpretations changed or what the impact of such changes, if any, may be.

Regulation Outside of the United States

In addition to regulations in the United States, we will be subject to regulations of other countries governing clinical trials and commercial sales and distribution of our products. Whether or not we obtain FDA approval for a product, we must obtain approval by the comparable regulatory authorities of countries outside of the United States before we can commence clinical trials in such countries and approval of the regulators of such countries or economic areas, such as the European Union, before we may market products in those countries or areas. The approval process and requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary greatly from place to place, and the time may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA approval.

Under European Union regulatory systems, a company may submit marketing authorization applications either under a centralized or decentralized procedure. The centralized procedure, which is compulsory for medicines produced by biotechnology or those medicines intended to treat AIDS, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders or diabetes and optional for those medicines which are highly innovative, provides for the grant of a single marketing authorization that is valid for all European Union member states. The decentralized procedure provides for mutual recognition of national approval decisions. Under this procedure, the holder of a national marketing authorization may submit an application to the remaining member states. Within 90 days of receiving the applications and assessments report, each member state must decide whether to recognize approval. If a member state does not recognize the marketing authorization, the disputed points are eventually referred to the European Commission, whose decision is binding on all member states.

As in the United States, we may apply for designation of a product as an orphan drug for the treatment of a specific indication in the European Union before the application for marketing authorization is made. Orphan drugs in Europe enjoy economic and marketing benefits, including up to ten years of market exclusivity for the approved indication unless another applicant can show that its product is safer, more effective or otherwise clinically superior to the orphan-designated product.

ATU

We may apply to make OCA available for use under a cohort Autorisation Temporaire d’Utilisation, or Temporary Authorization for Use, or ATU, in France. Under an ATU, the French Health Products Safety Agency, or Afssaps, allows the use of a drug in France before marketing approval has been obtained in France in order to treat serious or rare diseases for which no other treatment is available in that country. Afssaps will only grant an ATU where the benefit of the product outweighs the risk. An ATU is granted for one year and may be renewed. If an ATU is granted for OCA, we will be required to gather and analyze data concerning OCA’s use and submit a periodic report to Afssaps. We also will be responsible for submitting pharmacovigilance reports, as necessary. An ATU may be modified, suspended, or withdrawn for reasons of public health or if the conditions under which the ATU was granted are no longer met. We believe the granting of an ATU and subsequent use by patients in France prior to marketing approval may enable us to begin recognizing some product sales revenue for OCA prior to its approval in the United States and the remainder of the European Union.

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Reimbursement

Sales of our products will depend, in part, on the extent to which the costs of our products will be covered by third-party payors, such as government health programs, commercial insurance and managed healthcare organizations. These third-party payors are increasingly challenging the prices charged for medical products and services. Additionally, the containment of healthcare costs has become a priority of federal and state governments and the prices of drugs have been a focus in this effort. The U.S. government, state legislatures and foreign governments have shown significant interest in implementing cost-containment programs, including price controls, restrictions on reimbursement and requirements for substitution of generic products. Adoption of price controls and cost-containment measures, and adoption of more restrictive policies in jurisdictions with existing controls and measures, could further limit our net revenue and results. If these third-party payors do not consider our products to be cost-effective compared to other therapies, they may not cover our products after approved as a benefit under their plans or, if they do, the level of payment may not be sufficient to allow us to sell our products on a profitable basis.

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, or the MMA, imposed new requirements for the distribution and pricing of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries. Under Part D, Medicare beneficiaries may enroll in prescription drug plans offered by private entities which will provide coverage of outpatient prescription drugs. Part D plans include both stand-alone prescription drug benefit plans and prescription drug coverage as a supplement to Medicare Advantage plans. Unlike Medicare Part A and B, Part D coverage is not standardized. Part D prescription drug plan sponsors are not required to pay for all covered Part D drugs, and each drug plan can develop its own drug formulary that identifies which drugs it will cover and at what tier or level. However, Part D prescription drug formularies must include drugs within each therapeutic category and class of covered Part D drugs, though not necessarily all the drugs in each category or class. Any formulary used by a Part D prescription drug plan must be developed and reviewed by a pharmacy and therapeutic committee. Government payment for some of the costs of prescription drugs may increase demand for our products for which we receive marketing approval. However, any negotiated prices for our products covered by a Part D prescription drug plan will likely be lower than the prices we might otherwise obtain. Moreover, while the MMA applies only to drug benefits for Medicare beneficiaries, private payors often follow Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own payment rates. Any reduction in payment that results from the MMA may result in a similar reduction in payments from non-governmental payors.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides funding for the federal government to compare the effectiveness of different treatments for the same illness. A plan for the research will be developed by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Institutes for Health, and periodic reports on the status of the research and related expenditures will be made to Congress. Although the results of the comparative effectiveness studies are not intended to mandate coverage policies for public or private payors, it is not clear what effect, if any, the research will have on the sales of any product, if any such product or the condition that it is intended to treat is the subject of a study. It is also possible that comparative effectiveness research demonstrating benefits in a competitor’s product could adversely affect the sales of our product candidates. If third-party payors do not consider our products to be cost-effective compared to other available therapies, they may not cover our products as a benefit under their plans or, if they do, the level of payment may not be sufficient to allow us to sell our products on a profitable basis.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010, collectively referred to as the ACA, enacted in March 2010, is expected to have a significant impact on the health care industry. ACA is expected to expand coverage for the uninsured while at the same time containing overall healthcare costs. With regard to pharmaceutical products, among other things, ACA is expected to expand and increase industry rebates for drugs covered under Medicaid programs and make changes to the coverage requirements under the Medicare Part D program. We cannot predict the impact of ACA on pharmaceutical companies, as many of the ACA reforms require the promulgation of detailed regulations implementing the statutory provisions which has not yet occurred. In addition, although the United States Supreme Court recently upheld the constitutionality of most of the ACA, some states have indicated that they intend to not implement certain sections of the ACA, and some members

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of the U.S. Congress are still working to repeal parts of the ACA. These challenges add to the uncertainty of the legislative changes enacted as part of ACA.

In addition, in some non-U.S. jurisdictions, the proposed pricing for a drug must be approved before it may be lawfully marketed. The requirements governing drug pricing vary widely from country to country. For example, the European Union provides options for its member states to restrict the range of medicinal products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and to control the prices of medicinal products for human use. A member state may approve a specific price for the medicinal product or it may instead adopt a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company placing the medicinal product on the market. There can be no assurance that any country that has price controls or reimbursement limitations for pharmaceutical products will allow favorable reimbursement and pricing arrangements for any of our products. Historically, products launched in the European Union do not follow price structures of the United States and generally tend to be significantly lower.

Employees

As of March 15, 2013, we had 25 employees, of which 17 are involved in our drug development operations and eight are in general and administrative functions. None of our employees are represented by a labor union and we consider our employee relations to be good.

Corporate Information

We were incorporated in the State of Delaware on September 4, 2002. Our principal executive offices are located at 18 Desbrosses Street, New York, NY 10013, and our telephone number is (646) 747-1000.

Our corporate website address is www.interceptpharma.com. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to reports filed pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, are available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Securities and Exchange Commission maintains an internet site that contains our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other information regarding our company, at www.sec.gov. These reports and other information concerning our company may also be accessed at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the Securities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. The contents of these websites are not incorporated into this Annual Report. Further, our references to the URLs for these websites are intended to be inactive textual reference only.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012. We will remain an “emerging growth company” until the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1 billion or more; (ii) December 31, 2017; (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years; or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission. We refer to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 herein as the “JOBS Act,” and references herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

Except for the historical information contained herein or incorporated by reference, this report and the information incorporated by reference contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include projections about our accounting and finances, plans and objectives for the future, future operating and economic performance and other statements regarding future performance. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or events. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this report. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the following section, as well as those discussed in Part II, Item 7 entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere throughout this report and in any documents incorporated in this report by reference.

You should consider carefully the following risk factors, together with all of the other information included or incorporated in this report. If any of the following risks, either alone or taken together, or other risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe to not be significant, develop into actual events, then our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could be materially adversely affected. If that happens, the market price of our common stock could decline, and stockholders may lose all or part of their investment.

Risks Relating to Our Financial Position and Need for Additional Capital

We have never been profitable. Currently, we have no products approved for commercial sale, and to date we have not generated any revenue from product sales. As a result, our ability to reduce our losses and reach profitability is unproven, and we may never achieve or sustain profitability.

We have never been profitable and do not expect to be profitable in the foreseeable future. We have not yet submitted any product candidates for approval by regulatory authorities in the United States or elsewhere for our lead indication, primary biliary cirrhosis, or PBC, or any other indication. We have incurred net losses in each year since our inception, including net losses of $15.1 million, $12.7 million and $43.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively. We had an accumulated deficit of $118.2 million as of December 31, 2012. As of December 31, 2012, our working capital was $98.8 million and our cash, cash equivalents and investment securities available for sale was $110.2 million.

To date, we have devoted most of our financial resources to our corporate overhead and research and development, including our drug discovery research, preclinical development activities and clinical trials. We have not generated any revenues from product sales. We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect these losses to increase as we continue our development of, and seek regulatory approvals for, obeticholic acid, or OCA, which is our lead product candidate, and our other product candidates, prepare for and begin the commercialization of any approved products, and add infrastructure and personnel to support our product development efforts and operations as a public company. We anticipate that any such losses could be significant for the next several years as we complete our Phase 3 clinical trial of OCA in PBC, which we call the POISE trial, and related activities required for regulatory approval of OCA and continue pursuing additional indications for OCA in clinical trials, and initiate pre-commercialization activities. If OCA or any of our other product candidates fails in clinical trials or does not gain regulatory approval, or if our product candidates do not achieve market acceptance, we may never become profitable. As a result of the foregoing, we expect to continue to experience net losses and negative cash flows for the foreseeable future. These net losses and negative cash flows have had, and will continue to have, an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with pharmaceutical product development, we are unable to accurately predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when, or if, we will be able to achieve profitability. In addition, our expenses could increase if we are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, or the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, to perform studies or trials in addition to those currently expected, or if there are any delays in completing our clinical trials or the development of any of our product candidates. The amount of future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenues.

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We will require substantial additional funding, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all, and, if not so available, may require us to delay, limit, reduce or cease our operations.

We are currently advancing OCA through clinical development for multiple indications and other product candidates through preclinical development. Developing pharmaceutical products, including conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials, is expensive. We will require substantial additional future capital in order to complete clinical development and commercialize OCA, and to conduct the research and development and clinical and regulatory activities necessary to bring other product candidates to market. If the FDA or EMA requires that we perform additional preclinical studies or clinical trials, our expenses would further increase beyond what we currently expect and the anticipated timing of any potential NDA or MAA would likely be delayed.

Our existing cash and cash equivalents will not be sufficient to complete advanced clinical development of any of our product candidates other than OCA for PBC. Accordingly, we will continue to require substantial additional capital to continue our clinical development and commercialization activities. Because successful development of our product candidates is uncertain, we are unable to estimate the actual funds we will require to complete research and development and commercialize our products under development.

The amount and timing of our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including but not limited to:

Some of these factors are outside of our control. Based upon our currently expected level of operating expenditures, we believe that we will be able to fund our operations through mid-2015. This estimate reflects our enrollment of a greater number of patients in our POISE trial than originally planned; additional

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nonclinical studies and clinical trials to support our planned regulatory submissions for OCA in PBC; and an anticipated increase in pre-commercial activities for OCA in PBC. This period could be shortened if there are any significant increases in planned spending on development programs or more rapid progress of development programs than anticipated or if we accelerate pre-commercialization activities. We do not expect our existing capital resources to be sufficient to enable us to complete the commercialization of OCA, if approved, or to initiate all of the clinical trials or additional development work needed for any of our other product candidates. Accordingly, we expect that we will need to raise additional funds in the future.

We may seek additional funding through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, government or other third-party funding, marketing and distribution arrangements and other collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements. Additional funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. In addition, the terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our stockholders. In addition, the issuance of additional shares by us, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our shares to decline.

If we are unable to obtain funding on a timely basis, we may be required to significantly curtail one or more of our research or development programs. We also could be required to seek funds through arrangements with collaborative partners or otherwise that may require us to relinquish rights to some of our technologies or product candidates or otherwise agree to terms unfavorable to us.

Our revenues to date have been generated through our collaboration agreements and we may not receive any additional revenues under such agreements.

To date, our sources of revenue have been the up-front payments received under our collaboration and license agreements with Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd., or DSP, and Les Laboratoires Servier and Institut de Recherches Servier, which are collectively referred to as Servier. Additional payments under each of the DSP and Servier agreements are based on the achievement of various research, development, regulatory and commercial sales milestones and royalty payments based on the sales of the products covered by such agreements. Future payments from DSP and Servier under their respective collaboration and license agreements are uncertain because DSP or Servier, as the case may be, may choose not to continue research or development of activities for the product candidates under license in their licensed territory, the product candidates may not be approved for the proposed indications or, even if any product candidate is approved for one or more indications, it may not be commercially successful. If we are unable to develop and commercialize one or more of our product candidates, either alone or with collaborators, or if revenues from any such collaboration product candidate that receives marketing approval are insufficient, we will not achieve profitability. Even if we achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability.

We have a limited operating history and we expect a number of factors to cause our operating results to fluctuate on a quarterly and annual basis, which may make it difficult to predict our future performance.

We are a development stage biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history. Our operations to date have been limited to developing our technology and undertaking preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates. We have not yet obtained regulatory approvals for any of our product candidates. Consequently, any predictions made about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history or approved products on the market. Our financial condition and operating results have varied significantly in the past and are expected to continue to significantly fluctuate from quarter-to-quarter or year-to-year due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Factors relating to our business that may contribute to these fluctuations include:

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In addition, our financial results may vary due to fluctuations in our warrant liability. Because our common stock is publicly traded, these fluctuations are expected to increase or decrease significantly based on changes in the price of our common stock. For example, the fair value of the warrant liability increased from $6.3 million at September 30, 2012 to approximately $30.4 million at December 31, 2012 primarily due to increase in the fair value of our common stock from $11.21 per share as of September 30, 2012, prior to our IPO, to $34.24 per share as of December 31, 2012,. Accordingly, our financial results for any period should not be relied upon as indications of future operating performance.

Our recurring losses from operations may raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern.

Our recurring losses from operations may raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. If in the future, our independent registered public accounting firm were to include an explanatory paragraph in its report on our consolidated financial statements stating there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, such an opinion could materially limit our ability to raise additional funds through the issuance of new debt or equity securities or otherwise. There is no assurance that sufficient financing will be available when needed to allow us to continue as a going concern. The perception that we may not be able to continue as a going concern may cause others to choose not to deal with us due to concerns about our ability to meet our contractual obligations.

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Risks Relating to Regulatory Review and Approval of Our Product Candidates

We cannot be certain that OCA or any of our other product candidates will receive regulatory approval, and without regulatory approval we will not be able to market our product candidates.

We are initially developing OCA for the treatment of patients with PBC, portal hypertension, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, and bile acid diarrhea, and are also consulting with investigators to develop protocols for other indications. Our business currently depends entirely on the successful development and commercialization of OCA. Our ability to generate revenue related to product sales, if ever, will depend on the successful development and regulatory approval of OCA for the treatment of PBC and other indications and our other product candidates.

We currently have no products approved for sale and we cannot guarantee that we will ever have marketable products. The development of a product candidate and issues relating to its approval and marketing are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA in the United States, the EMA in Europe and regulatory authorities in other countries, with regulations differing from country to country. We are not permitted to market our product candidates in the United States or Europe until we receive approval of an NDA from the FDA or an MAA from the EMA, respectively. We have not submitted any marketing applications for any of our product candidates.

NDAs and MAAs must include extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to establish the product candidate’s safety and effectiveness for each desired indication. NDAs and MAAs must also include significant information regarding the chemistry, manufacturing and controls for the product. Obtaining approval of an NDA or an MAA is a lengthy, expensive and uncertain process, and we may not be successful in obtaining approval. The FDA and the EMA review processes can take years to complete and approval is never guaranteed. If we submit an NDA to the FDA, the FDA must decide whether to accept or reject the submission for filing. We cannot be certain that any submissions will be accepted for filing and review by the FDA. Regulators of other jurisdictions, such as the EMA, have their own procedures for approval of product candidates. Even if a product is approved, the FDA or the EMA, as the case may be, may limit the indications for which the product may be marketed, require extensive warnings on the product labeling or require expensive and time-consuming clinical trials or reporting as conditions of approval. Regulatory authorities in countries outside of the United States and Europe also have requirements for approval of drug candidates with which we must comply prior to marketing in those countries. Obtaining regulatory approval for marketing of a product candidate in one country does not ensure that we will be able to obtain regulatory approval in any other country. In addition, delays in approvals or rejections of marketing applications in the United States, Europe or other countries may be based upon many factors, including regulatory requests for additional analyses, reports, data, preclinical studies and clinical trials, regulatory questions regarding different interpretations of data and results, changes in regulatory policy during the period of product development and the emergence of new information regarding our product candidates or other products. Also, regulatory approval for any of our product candidates may be withdrawn.

We have completed three Phase 2 trials for OCA: two in patients with PBC and one in patients with type 2 diabetes with co-morbid nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. We completed enrollment in our POISE trial in December 2012 and anticipate that results from the 12 month double-blind portion of the POISE trial will be available in the second quarter of 2014. Before we submit an NDA to the FDA or an MAA to the EMA for OCA for the treatment of patients with PBC, we must successfully complete this trial. In addition, we must complete other preclinical and clinical studies, such as a study to evaluate the potential effects and clinical significance of OCA on the lipid profile of patients with PBC and a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy volunteers to evaluate the effect of OCA on the heart’s electrical cycle, known as the QT interval and two-year, two-species carcinogenicity studies. We cannot predict whether our future trials and studies will be successful or whether regulators will agree with our conclusions regarding the preclinical studies and clinical trials we have conducted to date or require us to conduct additional studies or trials.

If we are unable to obtain approval from the FDA, the EMA or other regulatory agencies for OCA and our other product candidates, or if, subsequent to approval, we are unable to successfully commercialize OCA or our other product candidates, we will not be able to generate sufficient revenue to become profitable or to continue our operations.

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We may never reach an agreement with the FDA on a surrogate endpoint for the accelerated approval of OCA for the treatment of PBC. The FDA, EMA and other regulators may require us to complete additional Phase 3 trials prior to the submission of an application for OCA for the treatment of PBC.

Typically, the FDA requires two pivotal clinical trials to approve an NDA. However, for OCA as a treatment for PBC, we currently plan to request accelerated approval from the FDA based on the Phase 3 POISE trial, the primary endpoint of which is a surrogate endpoint that we believe is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit, therefore meeting the FDA’s requirements for consideration under its accelerated approval regulation. However, the FDA has not yet provided any assurance that it will accept our approach, and we do not know if we will receive further written guidance from the FDA prior to submitting an NDA as to the acceptability of the POISE trial surrogate endpoint to support an approval of OCA for the treatment of PBC.

In order to build additional consensus regarding the clinical utility of the surrogate endpoint, we are sponsoring an independent study pooling and analyzing long-term PBC patient data from a number of leading PBC academic centers. Furthermore, an academic consortium in the United Kingdom recently published the results of another large observational study in PBC patients in the United Kingdom. Although we believe the results of both studies are supportive of the clinical utility of our surrogate endpoint, the supporting data may still not be accepted by the FDA in its consideration of the adequacy of our surrogate endpoint under an NDA for OCA for the treatment of PBC. The FDA has informed us that, even if it provides us an accelerated approval for OCA, we will be required to conduct a post-approval clinical outcomes trial to confirm the clinical benefit of OCA in PBC by demonstrating the correlation of biochemical therapeutic response in patients taking OCA with a significant reduction in adverse clinical outcomes over time. We believe that this clinical outcomes trial will need to be substantially underway at the time we submit an NDA. It is possible that our NDA submission for regulatory approval will not be accepted by the FDA for review or, even if it is accepted for review, that there may be delays in the FDA’s review process and that the FDA may determine that our NDA does not merit the approval of OCA for the treatment of PBC, in which case the FDA may require that we conduct and/or complete additional clinical trials and preclinical studies before it will reconsider our application for approval.

Because the FDA normally requires two pivotal clinical trials to approve an NDA, even if we achieve favorable results in our ongoing POISE trial, the FDA may not accept this trial as an adequate basis for approval and require that we conduct and complete a second Phase 3 clinical trial before considering an NDA for OCA for the treatment of PBC. Furthermore, the EMA and regulatory authorities in other countries in which we may seek approval for, and market, OCA, may require additional preclinical studies and/or clinical trials prior to granting approval. It may be expensive and time consuming to conduct and complete additional preclinical studies and clinical trials that the FDA, EMA and other regulatory authorities may require us to perform. As such, any requirement by the FDA, EMA or other regulatory authorities that we conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical trials could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, even if we receive regulatory approval of OCA for the treatment of PBC, the labeling for OCA in the United States, Europe or other countries in which we seek approval may include limitations that could impact the commercial success of OCA.

Delays in the commencement, enrollment and completion of clinical trials could result in increased costs to us and delay or limit our ability to obtain regulatory approval for OCA and our other product candidates.

Delays in the commencement, enrollment and completion of clinical trials could increase our product development costs or limit the regulatory approval of our product candidates. We completed enrollment of our Phase 3 POISE trial in December 2012 and anticipate that results from the 12 month double-blind portion of the POISE trial will be available in the second quarter of 2014. Although we anticipate that our existing cash, cash equivalents and investment securities available for sale, and interest on our cash balances, will be sufficient to fund our projected operating requirements through the completion of our POISE trial, the results from this trial may not be available when we expect or we may be required to conduct additional clinical trials or preclinical studies not currently planned to receive approval for OCA as a treatment for PBC, in which case we would require additional funding. In addition, we do not know whether any future trials or studies of our other product candidates, including any clinical outcomes trial of OCA, will begin on time or

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will be completed on schedule, if at all. The commencement, enrollment and completion of clinical trials can be delayed or suspended for a variety of reasons, including:

For example, in the past, we experienced delays in our Phase 2 clinical trial of OCA given as a monotherapy to patients with PBC because we were unable to find and enroll a sufficient number of trial patients who met the specific enrollment criteria in accordance with our anticipated trial schedule.

Changes in regulatory requirements and guidance may also occur and we or any of our collaborators may need to amend clinical trial protocols to reflect these changes with appropriate regulatory authorities. Amendments may require us or any of our collaborators to resubmit clinical trial protocols to IRBs for re-examination, which may impact the costs, timing or successful completion of a clinical trial. In addition, a clinical trial may be suspended or terminated at any time by us, our current or future collaborators, the FDA or other regulatory authorities due to a number of factors, including:

In addition, if we or any of our collaborators are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other preclinical studies of our product candidates beyond those contemplated, our ability to obtain regulatory approval of these product candidates and generate revenue from their sales would be similarly harmed.

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Clinical failure can occur at any stage of clinical development and we have never conducted a Phase 3 trial or submitted an NDA or MAA before. The results of earlier clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of future results and any product candidate we, DSP, Servier or our potential future collaborators advance through clinical trials may not have favorable results in later clinical trials or receive regulatory approval.

Clinical failure can occur at any stage of our clinical development. Clinical trials may produce negative or inconclusive results, and we or our collaborators may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials or preclinical studies. In addition, data obtained from trials and studies are susceptible to varying interpretations, and regulators may not interpret our data as favorably as we do, which may delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval. Success in preclinical studies and early clinical trials does not ensure that subsequent clinical trials will generate the same or similar results or otherwise provide adequate data to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of a product candidate. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical industry, including those with greater resources and experience than us, have suffered significant setbacks in Phase 3 clinical trials, even after seeing promising results in earlier clinical trials.

Both of our Phase 2 clinical trials of OCA in PBC patients showed statistically significant results against a primary endpoint that is similar to the endpoint of our Phase 3 POISE trial protocol currently underway. However, in our Phase 2 PBC trials, the primary endpoint was a reduction in alkaline phosphatase, or ALP, to a threshold below 1.5 times upper limit normal, or ULN, compared to placebo after 12 weeks of treatment, but the primary endpoint for our POISE trial is both a reduction in ALP to below a threshold of 1.67 times ULN, with a minimum of 15% reduction in ALP from baseline, and a normal bilirubin level, compared to placebo after 12 months of therapy. We cannot assure you that our POISE trial will achieve positive results. Moreover, the fact that a retrospective analysis of the data from our Phase 2 PBC trials appears to demonstrate that the defined endpoint in our POISE trial was achieved based on the Phase 2 data does not mean that this endpoint will be successfully achieved in the POISE trial.

In addition, the design of a clinical trial can determine whether its results will support approval of a product and flaws in the design of a clinical trial may not become apparent until the clinical trial is well-advanced. We have limited experience in designing clinical trials and may be unable to design and execute a clinical trial to support regulatory approval. Further, clinical trials of potential products often reveal that it is not practical or feasible to continue development efforts.

If OCA or our other product candidates are found to be unsafe or lack efficacy, we will not be able to obtain regulatory approval for them and our business would be harmed. For example, if the results of our Phase 3 POISE trial of OCA do not achieve the primary efficacy endpoints or demonstrate expected safety, the prospects for approval of OCA would be materially and adversely affected.

In some instances, there can be significant variability in safety and/or efficacy results between different trials of the same product candidate due to numerous factors, including changes in trial protocols, differences in composition of the patient populations, adherence to the dosing regimen and other trial protocols and the rate of dropout among clinical trial participants. We do not know whether any Phase 2, Phase 3 or other clinical trials we or any of our collaborators may conduct will demonstrate consistent or adequate efficacy and safety to obtain regulatory approval to market our product candidates. If we are unable to bring any of our current or future product candidates to market, or to acquire any marketed, previously approved products, our ability to create long-term stockholder value will be limited.

Our product candidates may have undesirable side effects which may delay or prevent marketing approval, or, if approval is received, require them to be taken off the market, require them to include safety warnings or otherwise limit their sales.

A substance that binds to a receptor of a cell and triggers a response by that cell is called an agonist. OCA has been shown to be a potent agonist of the farnesoid X receptor, or FXR. With the exception of the bile acid CDCA, which has been approved to treat cholesterol gallstone dissolution and a rare lipid storage disease, there are no approved FXR agonists and the adverse effects from long-term exposure to this drug class are unknown. Unforeseen side effects from any of our product candidates could arise either during clinical development or, if approved, after the approved product has been marketed. The most common side effects observed in clinical trials of OCA were pruritus, or itching, headaches, fatigue, nausea, constipation and diarrhea. In our Phase 2 PBC clinical trial of OCA in combination with ursodiol, approximately 8% of the

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patients enrolled in the 10 milligram (mg) and 25 mg dose groups withdrew from the trial due to severe pruritus. At the 50 mg dose, approximately 25% of the patients withdrew from the trial due to severe pruritus. Additional or unforeseen side effects from these or any of our other product candidates could arise either during clinical development or, if approved, after the approved product has been marketed. Although the discontinuation rate due to pruritus in our Phase 3 POISE trial has been lower than that seen in the 10 mg OCA dose group in our Phase 2 combination study, the trial is still ongoing and severe pruritus or other adverse events may occur.

The range and potential severity of possible side effects from systemic therapies is significant. The results of future clinical trials may show that our product candidates cause undesirable or unacceptable side effects, which could interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials, and result in delay of, or failure to obtain, marketing approval from the FDA and other regulatory authorities, or result in marketing approval from the FDA and other regulatory authorities with restrictive label warnings.

If any of our product candidates receives marketing approval and we or others later identify undesirable or unacceptable side effects caused by such products:

Any of these events could prevent us, DSP, Servier or our potential future collaborators from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product or could substantially increase commercialization costs and expenses, which in turn could delay or prevent us from generating significant revenues from the sale of our products.

Reimbursement decisions by third-party payors may have an adverse effect on pricing and market acceptance. If there is not sufficient reimbursement for our products, it is less likely that they will be widely used.

Market acceptance and sales of OCA or any other product candidates that we develop, if approved, will depend on reimbursement policies and may be affected by future healthcare reform measures. Government authorities and third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, decide which drugs they will cover and establish payment levels. We cannot be certain that reimbursement will be available for OCA or any other product candidates that we develop. Also, we cannot be certain that reimbursement policies will not reduce the demand for, or the price paid for, our products. If reimbursement is not available or is available on a limited basis, we may not be able to successfully commercialize OCA or any other product candidates that we develop.

In the United States, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, or MMA, changed the way Medicare covers and pays for pharmaceutical products. The legislation established Medicare Part D, which expanded Medicare coverage for outpatient prescription drug purchases by the elderly but provided authority for limiting the number of drugs that will be covered in any therapeutic class. The MMA also introduced a new reimbursement methodology based on average sales prices for physician- administered drugs. Any negotiated prices for our products covered by a Part D prescription drug plan will likely be lower than the prices we might otherwise obtain. Moreover, while the MMA applies only to drug benefits for Medicare beneficiaries, private payors often follow Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own payment rates. Any reduction in payment that results from the MMA may result in a similar reduction in payments from non-governmental payors.

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The United States and several other jurisdictions are considering, or have already enacted, a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to change the healthcare system in ways that could affect our ability to sell our products profitably. Among policy makers and payors in the United States and elsewhere, there is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs, improving quality and/or expanding access to healthcare. In the United States, the pharmaceutical industry has been a particular focus of these efforts and has been significantly affected by major legislative initiatives. We expect to experience pricing pressures in connection with the sale of OCA and any other products that we develop, due to the trend toward managed healthcare, the increasing influence of health maintenance organizations and additional legislative proposals.

In March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, or collectively, ACA, became law in the United States. The goal of ACA is to reduce the cost of health care and substantially change the way health care is financed by both governmental and private insurers. While we cannot predict what impact on federal reimbursement policies this legislation will have in general or on our business specifically, the ACA may result in downward pressure on pharmaceutical reimbursement, which could negatively affect market acceptance of OCA or any future product candidates. In addition, although the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of most of the ACA, some states have indicated that they intend to not implement certain sections of the ACA, and some members of the U.S. Congress are still working to repeal the ACA. We cannot predict whether these challenges will continue or other proposals will be made or adopted, or what impact these efforts may have on us.

If we do not obtain protection under the Hatch-Waxman Act and similar legislation outside of the United States by extending the patent terms and obtaining data exclusivity for our product candidates, our business may be materially harmed.

Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of FDA marketing approval of OCA and our other product candidates, if any, one or more of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term restoration under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, referred to as the Hatch-Waxman Act. The Hatch-Waxman Act permits a patent restoration term of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during product development and the FDA regulatory review process. However, we may not be granted an extension because of, for example, failing to apply within applicable deadlines, failing to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents or otherwise failing to satisfy applicable requirements. Moreover, the applicable time period or the scope of patent protection afforded could be less than we request. If we are unable to obtain patent term extension or restoration or the term of any such extension is less than we request, the period during which we will have the right to exclusively market our product will be shortened and our competitors may obtain approval of competing products following our patent expiration, and our revenue could be reduced, possibly materially. In the event that we are unable to obtain any patent term extensions, the issued composition of matter patents for OCA are expected to expire in 2022 assuming they withstand any challenge. We expect that the other patents and patent applications for the OCA portfolio, if issued, and if the appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees are paid, would expire from 2022 to 2028.

If we market products in a manner that violates healthcare fraud and abuse laws, or if we violate government price reporting laws, we may be subject to civil or criminal penalties.

In addition to FDA restrictions on marketing of pharmaceutical products, several other types of state and federal healthcare laws, commonly referred to as “fraud and abuse” laws, have been applied in recent years to restrict certain marketing practices in the pharmaceutical industry. Other jurisdictions such as Europe have similar laws. These laws include false claims and anti-kickback statutes. If we market our products and our products are paid for by governmental programs, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of these laws.

Federal false claims laws prohibit any person from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false claim for payment to the federal government or knowingly making, or causing to be made, a false statement to get a false claim paid. The federal healthcare program anti-kickback statute prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce, or in

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return for, purchasing, leasing, ordering or arranging for the purchase, lease or order of any healthcare item or service covered by Medicare, Medicaid or other federally financed healthcare programs. This statute has been interpreted to apply to arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers on the one hand and prescribers, purchasers or formulary managers on the other. Although there are several statutory exemptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting certain common activities from prosecution, the exemptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly, and practices that involve remuneration intended to induce prescribing, purchasing or recommending may be subject to scrutiny if they do not qualify for an exemption or safe harbor. Most states also have statutes or regulations similar to the federal anti-kickback law and federal false claims laws, which apply to items and services covered by Medicaid and other state programs, or, in several states, apply regardless of the payor. Administrative, civil and criminal sanctions may be imposed under these federal and state laws.

Over the past few years, a number of pharmaceutical and other healthcare companies have been prosecuted under these laws for a variety of promotional and marketing activities, such as: providing free trips, free goods, sham consulting fees and grants and other monetary benefits to prescribers; reporting inflated average wholesale prices that were then used by federal programs to set reimbursement rates; engaging in off-label promotion; and submitting inflated best price information to the Medicaid Rebate Program to reduce liability for Medicaid rebates.

If the FDA and EMA and other regulatory agencies do not approve the manufacturing facilities of our future contract manufacturers for commercial production, we may not be able to commercialize any of our product candidates.

We do not intend to manufacture the pharmaceutical products that we plan to sell. We currently have agreements with a contract manufacturer for the production of the active pharmaceutical ingredients and the formulation of sufficient quantities of drug product for our Phase 3 POISE trial of OCA for the treatment of PBC and the other trials and preclinical studies that we believe we will need to conduct prior to seeking regulatory approval. However, we do not have agreements for commercial supplies of OCA or any of our other product candidates and we may not be able to reach agreements with these or other contract manufacturers for sufficient supplies to commercialize OCA if it is approved. Additionally, the facilities used by any contract manufacturer to manufacture OCA or any of our other product candidates must be the subject of a satisfactory inspection before the FDA or the regulators in other jurisdictions approve the product candidate manufactured at that facility. We are completely dependent on these third-party manufacturers for compliance with the requirements of U.S. and non-U.S. regulators for the manufacture of our finished products. If our manufacturers cannot successfully manufacture material that conform to our specifications and current good manufacturing practice requirements of any governmental agency whose jurisdiction to which we are subject, our product candidates will not be approved or, if already approved, may be subject to recalls. Reliance on third-party manufacturers entails risks to which we would not be subject if we manufactured the product candidates, including:

Any of these factors could cause the delay of approval or commercialization of our product candidates, cause us to incur higher costs or prevent us from commercializing our product candidates successfully. Furthermore, if any of our product candidates are approved and contract manufacturers fail to deliver the required commercial quantities of finished product on a timely basis and at commercially reasonable prices and we are unable to find one or more replacement manufacturers capable of production at a substantially equivalent cost, in substantially equivalent volumes and quality and on a timely basis, we would likely be unable to meet demand for our products and could lose potential revenue. It may take several years to establish an alternative source of supply for our product candidates and to have any such new source approved by the government agencies that regulate our products.

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Even if our product candidates receive regulatory approval, we may still face future development and regulatory difficulties.

Our product candidates, if approved, will also be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements for labeling, packaging, storage, advertising, promotion, record-keeping and submission of safety and other post-market information. In addition, approved products, manufacturers and manufacturers’ facilities are required to comply with extensive FDA and EMA requirements and requirements of other similar agencies, including ensuring that quality control and manufacturing procedures conform to current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMPs. As such, we and our contract manufacturers are subject to continual review and periodic inspections to assess compliance with cGMPs. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to expend time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production and quality control. We will also be required to report certain adverse reactions and production problems, if any, to the FDA and EMA and other similar agencies and to comply with certain requirements concerning advertising and promotion for our products. Promotional communications with respect to prescription drugs are subject to a variety of legal and regulatory restrictions and must be consistent with the information in the product’s approved label. Accordingly, we may not promote our approved products, if any, for indications or uses for which they are not approved.

If a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, or disagrees with the promotion, marketing or labeling of a product, it may impose restrictions on that product or us, including requiring withdrawal of the product from the market. If our product candidates fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency may:

Risks Relating to the Commercialization of Our Products

Even if approved, our product candidates may not achieve broad market acceptance among physicians, patients and healthcare payors, and as a result our revenues generated from their sales may be limited.

The commercial success of OCA or our other product candidates, if approved, will depend upon their acceptance among the medical community, including physicians, health care payors and patients. For PBC, the current standard of care is ursodeoxycholic acid, which is available generically as ursodiol. In order for OCA to be commercially successful, we will need to demonstrate that it is safe and effective for the treatment of patients who have an inadequate response to or who are unable to tolerate ursodiol, referred to as second line treatment, and is more effective than any other alternatives that may be developed as a second line treatment for PBC, particularly given the much higher price that we anticipate charging for OCA compared to the price of generically available ursodiol. The degree of market acceptance of our product candidates will depend on a number of factors, including:

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If our product candidates are approved, but do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, patients, the medical community and healthcare payors, sufficient revenue may not be generated from these products and we may not become or remain profitable. In addition, efforts to educate the medical community and third-party payors on the benefits of our product candidates may require significant resources and may never be successful.

We have no sales, marketing or distribution experience and we will have to invest significant additional resources to develop those capabilities or enter into acceptable third-party sales and marketing arrangements.

We have no sales, marketing or distribution experience and have only recently started the initial phases of developing an internal commercial organization. To develop internal sales, distribution and marketing capabilities, we will have to invest significant additional amounts of financial and management resources, some of which will be committed prior to any confirmation that OCA or any of our other product candidates will be approved. For product candidates where we decide to perform sales, marketing and distribution functions ourselves or through third parties, we could face a number of additional risks, including:

We have entered into an agreement with DSP for the development and commercialization of OCA in Japan and China and other potential Asian countries, if approved, and have entered into an agreement with Servier to assist in the development and commercialization of certain of our earlier stage agonists of a dedicated bile acid receptor called TGR5 outside of the United States and Japan, if approved, and may elect to seek additional strategic collaborators for our product candidates. We may have limited or no control over the sales, marketing and distribution activities of these third parties. Our future revenues may depend heavily on the success of the efforts of these third parties.

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If any of our current strategic collaborators fails to perform its obligations or terminates its agreement with us, the development and commercialization of the product candidates under such agreement could be delayed or terminated and our business could be substantially harmed.

We currently have strategic collaborations in place relating to certain of our product candidates. We entered into an exclusive license agreement with DSP regarding the development and commercialization of OCA for PBC and NASH in Japan and China and provided DSP with an option to extend its exclusive license to different indications as well as certain other Asian countries. We entered into a strategic collaboration with Servier initially focused on the identification and optimization of novel TGR5 agonists for the treatment of type-2 diabetes and other associated disorders. These strategic collaborations may not be scientifically or commercially successful due to a number of important factors, including the following:

If either DSP or Servier fails to develop or effectively commercialize OCA or any TGR5 compounds, respectively, we may not be able to replace them with another collaborator. We may also be unable to obtain, on terms acceptable to us, a license from such strategic collaborator to any of its intellectual property that may be necessary or useful for us to continue to develop and commercialize a product candidate. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and our ability to achieve future profitability, and could cause our stock price to decline.

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We may not be successful in establishing and maintaining development and commercialization collaborations, which could adversely affect our ability to develop certain of our product candidates and our financial condition and operating results.

Because developing pharmaceutical products, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approval, establishing manufacturing capabilities and marketing approved products are expensive, we have entered into, and may seek to enter into, collaborations with companies that have more experience. For example, we have entered into collaborations with DSP for OCA and Servier for our earlier stage TGR5 program. We may establish additional collaborations for development and commercialization of OCA in territories outside of those licensed by DSP or for our earlier stage TGR5 program in the United States or Japan and product candidates and research programs, including INT-767 and INT-777. Additionally, if any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, we may enter into sales and marketing arrangements with third parties with respect to our unlicensed territories. If we are unable to maintain our existing arrangements or enter into any new such arrangements on acceptable terms, if at all, we may be unable to effectively market and sell our products in our target markets. We expect to face competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. Moreover, collaboration arrangements are complex and time consuming to negotiate, document and implement and they may require substantial resources to maintain. We may not be successful in our efforts to establish and implement collaborations or other alternative arrangements for the development of our product candidates.

When we collaborate with a third party for development and commercialization of a product candidate, we can expect to relinquish some or all of the control over the future success of that product candidate to the third party. For example, DSP has the exclusive rights to OCA in Japan and China and the option to exclusively license OCA in several other Asian countries. Our collaboration partner may not devote sufficient resources to the commercialization of our product candidates or may otherwise fail in their commercialization. The terms of any collaboration or other arrangement that we establish may not be favorable to us. In addition, any collaboration that we enter into, including our collaborations with DSP and Servier, may be unsuccessful in the development and commercialization of our product candidates. In some cases, we may be responsible for continuing preclinical and initial clinical development of a product candidate or research program under a collaboration arrangement, and the payment we receive from our collaboration partner may be insufficient to cover the cost of this development. If we are unable to reach agreements with suitable collaborators for our product candidates, we would face increased costs, we may be forced to limit the number of our product candidates we can commercially develop or the territories in which we commercialize them and we might fail to commercialize products or programs for which a suitable collaborator cannot be found. If we fail to achieve successful collaborations, our operating results and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected.

If we fail to develop OCA for additional indications, our commercial opportunity will be limited.

To date, we have focused the majority of our development efforts on the development of OCA for the second line treatment of PBC. One of our strategies is to pursue clinical development of OCA for other orphan and more common indications, to the extent that we have sufficient funding.

PBC is a rare disease and, as a result, the market size for treatments of PBC is limited. Furthermore, because a significant proportion of PBC patients do not exhibit any symptoms at the time of diagnosis, PBC may be left undiagnosed for a significant period of time. Due to these factors, our ability to grow revenues will be dependent on our ability to successfully develop and commercialize OCA for the treatment of additional indications. The completion of development, securing of approval and commercialization of OCA for additional indications will require substantial additional funding and is prone to the risks of failure inherent in drug development. We cannot provide you any assurance that we will be able to successfully advance any of these indications through the development process. Even if we receive FDA or EMA approval to market OCA for the treatment of any of these additional indications, we cannot assure you that any such additional indications will be successfully commercialized, widely accepted in the marketplace or more effective than other commercially available alternatives. If we are unable to successfully develop and commercialize OCA for these additional indications, our commercial opportunity will be limited and our business prospects will suffer.

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If serious adverse events or other undesirable side effects are identified during the development of OCA for one indication, we may need to abandon our development of OCA for other indications.

Product candidates in clinical stages of development have a high risk of failure. We cannot predict when or if OCA will prove effective or safe in humans or will receive regulatory approval. To date, the most common side effects observed in clinical trials of OCA were pruritus, headaches, fatigue, constipation and diarrhea. New side effects could, however, be identified as we expand our clinical trials for OCA to other indications. If new side effects are found during the development of OCA for any indication, if known side effects are shown to be more severe than previously observed or if OCA is found to have other unexpected characteristics, we may need to abandon our development of OCA for PBC and other potential indications. We cannot assure you that additional or more severe adverse side effects with respect to OCA will not develop in future clinical trials, which could delay or preclude regulatory approval of OCA or limit its commercial use.

Risks Relating to Our Business and Strategy

We face competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and our operating results will suffer if we fail to compete effectively.

The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are intensely competitive and subject to rapid and significant technological change. We have competitors in the United States, Europe and other jurisdictions, including major multinational pharmaceutical companies, established biotechnology companies, specialty pharmaceutical and generic drug companies and universities and other research institutions. Many of our competitors have greater financial and other resources, such as larger research and development staff and more experienced marketing and manufacturing organizations. Large pharmaceutical companies, in particular, have extensive experience in clinical testing, obtaining regulatory approvals, recruiting patients and manufacturing pharmaceutical products. These companies also have significantly greater research, sales and marketing capabilities and collaborative arrangements in our target markets with leading companies and research institutions. Established pharmaceutical companies may also invest heavily to accelerate discovery and development of novel compounds or to in-license novel compounds that could make the product candidates that we develop obsolete. As a result of all of these factors, our competitors may succeed in obtaining patent protection and/or FDA or EMA approval or discovering, developing and commercializing drugs for the chronic liver and other diseases that we are targeting before we do. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large, established companies. Some of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies we expect to compete with include Aptalis Pharma US, Inc., Astellas Pharma US, Inc., AstraZeneca, Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH, Eli Lilly, Exelixis, Inc., Galmed Medical Research Ltd., Immuron Ltd., Johnson & Johnson, Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., NasVax Ltd., NovImmune SA., Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG, Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp., Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Tioga Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In addition, many universities and private and public research institutes may become active in our target disease areas. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing on an exclusive basis, technologies and drug products that are more effective or less costly than OCA or any other product candidates that we are currently developing or that we may develop, which could render our products obsolete and noncompetitive.

We believe that our ability to successfully compete will depend on, among other things:

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If our competitors market products that are more effective, safer or less expensive than our future products, if any, or that reach the market sooner than our future products, if any, we may not achieve commercial success. In addition, the biopharmaceutical industry is characterized by rapid technological change. Because our research approach integrates many technologies, it may be difficult for us to stay abreast of the rapid changes in each technology. If we fail to stay at the forefront of technological change, we may be unable to compete effectively. Technological advances or products developed by our competitors may render our technologies or product candidates obsolete, less competitive or not economical.

We depend on third-party contractors for a substantial portion of our operations and may not be able to control their work as effectively as if we performed these functions ourselves.

We outsource substantial portions of our operations to third-party service providers, including the conduct of preclinical studies and clinical trials, collection and analysis of data and manufacturing. Our agreements with third-party service providers and CROs are on a study-by-study and project-by-project basis. Typically, we may terminate the agreements with notice and are responsible for the supplier’s previously incurred costs. In addition, any CRO that we retain will be subject to the FDA’s and EMA’s regulatory requirements and similar standards outside of the United States and Europe and we do not have control over compliance with these regulations by these providers. Consequently, if these providers do not adhere to applicable governing practices and standards, the development and commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed or stopped, which could severely harm our business and financial condition.

Because we have relied on third parties, our internal capacity to perform these functions is limited to management oversight. Outsourcing these functions involves the risk that third parties may not perform to our standards, may not produce results in a timely manner or may fail to perform at all. Several years ago, we experienced difficulties with a third-party contract manufacturer for OCA, including delays in receiving adequate clinical trial supplies as requested within the requested time periods. We subsequently replaced this manufacturer with other third-party contract manufacturers for OCA. Although we have not experienced any significant difficulties with our third-party contractors since then, it is possible that we could experience difficulties in the future. In addition, the use of third-party service providers requires us to disclose our proprietary information to these parties, which could increase the risk that this information will be misappropriated. There are a limited number of third-party service providers that specialize or have the expertise required to achieve our business objectives. Identifying, qualifying and managing performance of third-party service providers can be difficult, time consuming and cause delays in our development programs. We currently have a small number of employees, which limits the internal resources we have available to identify and monitor third-party service providers. To the extent we are unable to identify, retain and successfully manage the performance of third-party service providers in the future, our business may be adversely affected, and we may be subject to the imposition of civil or criminal penalties if their conduct of clinical trials violates applicable law.

Our third-party service providers may not be prohibited from providing their services to other biopharmaceutical companies, including companies that currently or may in the future compete with us. For example, certain of our third-party service providers and consultants may be able to develop intellectual property to which we are not entitled under our agreements which may eventually be used to develop products that compete with our products. Although we generally have confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements in

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place with our third-party service providers and consultants, such third parties may be able to provide services to other companies without violating the terms of our agreements. In addition, although we may seek to enter into non-compete arrangements with our key third-party service providers, such arrangements are difficult to negotiate and we may be unable to successfully enter into such arrangements.

A variety of risks associated with our international business operations and our planned international business relationships could materially adversely affect our business.

Prior to April 2011, we operated a wholly-owned subsidiary in Italy where our bile acid receptor research was primarily conducted. Subsequently, until March 15, 2013, our Italian subsidiary was in the process of voluntary liquidation under Italian law. Effective March 15, 2013, we have decided to remove our Italian subsidiary from the liquidation process and it will continue to act as our legal representative for our clinical trials in the European Union to satisfy European Union regulatory requirements. In addition, we have entered into an agreement with DSP for the development of OCA and with Servier for our earlier stage TGR5 program, and we may enter into agreements with other third parties for the development and commercialization of OCA or our other product candidates in international markets. Our international operations and business relationships subject us to additional risks that may materially adversely affect our ability to attain or sustain profitable operations, including:

We will need to expand our operations and increase the size of our company, and we may experience difficulties in managing growth.

As of March 15, 2013, we had 25 employees. As we increase the number of ongoing product development programs and advance our product candidates through preclinical studies and clinical trials, we will need to increase our product development, scientific and administrative headcount to manage these programs. In addition, to meet our obligations as a public company, we will need to increase our general and administrative capabilities. Our management, personnel and systems currently in place may not be adequate to support this future growth. Our need to effectively manage our operations, growth and various projects requires that we:

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If we are unable to successfully manage this growth and increased complexity of operations, our business may be adversely affected.

We may not be able to manage our business effectively if we are unable to attract and retain key personnel and consultants.

We may not be able to attract or retain qualified management, finance, scientific and clinical personnel and consultants due to the intense competition for qualified personnel and consultants among biotechnology, pharmaceutical and other businesses. If we are not able to attract and retain necessary personnel and consultants to accomplish our business objectives, we may experience constraints that will significantly impede the achievement of our development objectives, our ability to raise additional capital and our ability to implement our business strategy.

Our industry has experienced a high rate of turnover of management personnel in recent years. We are highly dependent on the development, regulatory, commercialization and business development expertise of Mark Pruzanski, our co-founder and president and chief executive officer; David Shapiro, our chief medical officer; Barbara Duncan, our chief financial officer and treasurer; Daniel Regan, our chief commercial officer hired in March 2013; Luciano Adorini, our chief scientific officer; and our other key employees and consultants, such as Professor Roberto Pellicciari, our co-founder who provides ongoing consulting services to us. If we lose one or more of our executive officers or key employees or consultants, our ability to implement our business strategy successfully could be seriously harmed. Any of our executive officers or key employees or consultants may terminate their employment at any time. Replacing executive officers, key employees and consultants may be difficult and may take an extended period of time because of the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of skills and experience required to develop, gain regulatory approval of and commercialize products successfully. Competition to hire and retain employees and consultants from this limited pool is intense, and we may be unable to hire, train, retain or motivate these additional key personnel and consultants. Our failure to retain key personnel or consultants could materially harm our business.

We have scientific and clinical advisors and consultants, such as our co-founder Professor Roberto Pellicciari, who assist us in formulating our research, development and clinical strategies. These advisors are not our employees and may have commitments to, or consulting or advisory contracts with, other entities that may limit their availability to us and typically they will not enter into non-compete agreements with us. If a conflict of interest arises between their work for us and their work for another entity, we may lose their services. In addition, our advisors may have arrangements with other companies to assist those companies in developing products or technologies that may compete with ours.

Failure to build our finance infrastructure and improve our accounting systems and controls could impair our ability to comply with the financial reporting and internal controls requirements for publicly traded companies.

As a public company, we operate in an increasingly demanding regulatory environment, which requires us to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and the related rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, expanded disclosure requirements, accelerated reporting requirements and more complex accounting rules. Company responsibilities required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act include establishing corporate oversight and adequate internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and are important to help prevent financial fraud.

We have begun implementing our system of internal controls over financial reporting and preparing the documentation necessary to perform the evaluation needed to comply with Section 404(a) of the

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Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We anticipate that we will need to retain additional finance capabilities and build our financial infrastructure as a public company, including complying with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We plan to continue improving our financial infrastructure with the retention of additional financial and accounting capabilities, the enhancement of internal controls and additional training for our financial and accounting staff.

Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, starting with the second annual report that we would expect to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, for as long as we remain an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, we have and intend to continue to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We may continue to take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” We will remain an “emerging growth company” until the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1 billion or more; (ii) December 31, 2017; (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years; or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Until we are able to expand our finance and administrative capabilities and establish necessary financial reporting infrastructure, we may not be able to prepare and disclose, in a timely manner, our financial statements and other required disclosures or comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or existing or new reporting requirements. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our business and results of operations could be harmed and investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information.

Our employees may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements and insider trading, which could significantly harm our business.

We are exposed to the risk of employee fraud or other misconduct. Misconduct by employees could include intentional failures to comply with the regulations of the FDA and non-U.S. regulators, provide accurate information to the FDA and non-U.S. regulators, comply with health care fraud and abuse laws and regulations in the United States and abroad, report financial information or data accurately or disclose unauthorized activities to us. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the health care industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Employee misconduct could also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. We have adopted a code of conduct, but it is not always possible to identify and deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to comply with these laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions.

We face potential product liability exposure, and if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability for a product candidate and may have to limit its commercialization.

The use of our product candidates in clinical trials and the sale of any products for which we may obtain marketing approval expose us to the risk of product liability claims. Product liability claims may be brought against us or our collaborators by participants enrolled in our clinical trials, patients, health care providers or others using, administering or selling our products. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against any such claims, we would incur substantial liabilities. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:

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We have obtained limited product liability insurance coverage for our clinical trials in the United States and in selected other jurisdictions where we are conducting clinical trials. Our product liability insurance coverage for clinical trials in the United States is currently limited to an aggregate of $10 million and outside of the United States we have coverage for lesser amounts that vary by country. As such, our insurance coverage may not reimburse us or may not be sufficient to reimburse us for any expenses or losses we may suffer. Moreover, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive, and, in the future, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses due to product liability. We intend to expand our insurance coverage for products to include the sale of commercial products if we obtain marketing approval for our product candidates in development, but we may be unable to obtain commercially reasonable product liability insurance for any products approved for marketing. Large judgments have been awarded in class action lawsuits based on drugs that had unanticipated side effects. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us, particularly if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could decrease our cash resources and adversely affect our business.

Our insurance policies are expensive and only protect us from some business risks, which will leave us exposed to significant uninsured liabilities.

We do not carry insurance for all categories of risk that our business may encounter. Some of the policies we currently maintain include general liability, employment practices liability, property, auto, workers’ compensation, products liability and directors’ and officers’ insurance. We do not know, however, if we will be able to maintain insurance with adequate levels of coverage. Any significant uninsured liability may require us to pay substantial amounts, which would adversely affect our financial position and results of operations.

If we engage in an acquisition, reorganization or business combination, we will incur a variety of risks that could adversely affect our business operations or our stockholders.

From time to time we have considered, and we will continue to consider in the future, strategic business initiatives intended to further the expansion and development of our business. These initiatives may include acquiring businesses, technologies or products or entering into a business combination with another company. If we pursue such a strategy, we could, among other things:

Although we intend to evaluate and consider acquisitions, reorganizations and business combinations in the future, we have no agreements or understandings with respect to any acquisition, reorganization or business combination at this time.

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Our business and operations would suffer in the event of system failures.

Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems, and those of our CROs and other third parties on which we rely, are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. If such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our drug development programs. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed or ongoing or planned clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of or damage to our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and the further development of our product candidates could be delayed.

Risks Relating to Our Intellectual Property

It is difficult and costly to protect our proprietary rights, and we may not be able to ensure their protection. If our patent position does not adequately protect our product candidates, others could compete against us more directly, which would harm our business, possibly materially.

Our commercial success will depend in part on obtaining and maintaining patent protection and trade secret protection of our current and future product candidates and the methods used to manufacture them, as well as successfully defending these patents against third-party challenges. Our ability to stop third parties from making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing our product candidates is dependent upon the extent to which we have rights under valid and enforceable patents or trade secrets that cover these activities.

The patent positions of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies can be highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions for which important legal principles remain unresolved. No consistent policy regarding the breadth of claims allowed in pharmaceutical patents has emerged to date in the United States or in many jurisdictions outside of the United States. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretations of patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our intellectual property. Accordingly, we cannot predict the breadth of claims that may be enforced in the patents that may be issued from the applications we currently or may in the future own or license from third parties. Further, if any patents we obtain or license are deemed invalid and unenforceable, our ability to commercialize or license our technology could be adversely affected.

Others have filed, and in the future are likely to file, patent applications covering products and technologies that are similar, identical or competitive to ours or important to our business. We cannot be certain that any patent application owned by a third party will not have priority over patent applications filed or in-licensed by us, or that we or our licensors will not be involved in interference, opposition or invalidity proceedings before U.S. or non-U.S. patent offices.

The degree of future protection for our proprietary rights is uncertain because legal means afford only limited protection and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep our competitive advantage. For example:

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As of March 15, 2013, we were the owner of record of 51 issued or granted U.S. and non-U.S. patents relating to OCA with claims directed to pharmaceutical compounds, pharmaceutical compositions, methods of making these compounds, and methods of using these compounds in various indications. We were also the owner of record of 9 pending U.S. and non-U.S. patent applications relating to OCA in these areas.

In addition, as of March 15, 2013, we were the owner of record of issued or granted U.S. and non-U.S. patents relating to our product candidates other than OCA, with claims directed to pharmaceutical compounds, pharmaceutical compositions and methods of using these compounds in various indications. We were also the owner of record of pending U.S. and non-U.S. patent applications relating to such other product candidates in these areas.

Patents covering the composition of matter of OCA expire in 2022 if the appropriate maintenance fee renewal, annuity, or other government fees are paid. We expect that the other patents and patent applications for the OCA portfolio, if issued, and if the appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees are paid, would expire from 2022 to 2028. We expect the issued INT-767 composition of matter patent in the United States, if the appropriate maintenance fee, renewal, annuity, or other governmental fees are paid, to expire in 2029. We expect the other pending patent applications in the INT-767 portfolio, if issued, and if the appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees are paid, to expire in 2027. We expect the issued INT-777 composition of matter patent in the United States, if the appropriate maintenance fee, renewal, annuity, or other governmental fees are paid, to expire in 2030. We expect the other pending patent applications in the INT-777 portfolio, if issued, and if the appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees are paid, to expire from 2028 to 2029.

Without patent protection on the composition of matter of our product candidates, our ability to assert our patents to stop others from using or selling our product candidates in a non-pharmaceutically acceptable formulation may be limited.

Due to the patent laws of a country, or the decisions of a patent examiner in a country, or our own filing strategies, we may not obtain patent coverage for all of our product candidates or methods involving these candidates in the parent patent application. We plan to pursue divisional patent applications or continuation patent applications in the United States and other countries to obtain claim coverage for inventions which were disclosed but not claimed in the parent patent application.

We may also rely on trade secrets to protect our technology, especially where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or feasible. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. Although we use reasonable efforts to protect our trade secrets, our employees, consultants, contractors, outside scientific collaborators and other advisors may unintentionally or willfully disclose our information to competitors. Enforcing a claim that a third party illegally obtained and is using any of our trade secrets is expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods and know-how.

We may incur substantial costs as a result of litigation or other proceedings relating to patent and other intellectual property rights.

If we choose to go to court to stop another party from using the inventions claimed in any patents we obtain, that individual or company has the right to ask the court to rule that such patents are invalid or should not be enforced against that third party. These lawsuits are expensive and would consume time and resources and divert the attention of managerial and scientific personnel even if we were successful in stopping the infringement of such patents. In addition, there is a risk that the court will decide that such patents are not valid and that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the inventions. There is also the risk that, even if the validity of such patents is upheld, the court will refuse to stop the other party on the ground that such other party’s activities do not infringe our rights to such patents. In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court has recently modified some tests used by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, in granting patents over the past 20 years, which may decrease the likelihood that we will be able to obtain patents and increase the likelihood of challenge of any patents we obtain or license.

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We may infringe the intellectual property rights of others, which may prevent or delay our product development efforts and stop us from commercializing or increase the costs of commercializing our product candidates.

Our success will depend in part on our ability to operate without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties. We cannot guarantee that our products, or manufacture or use of our product candidates, will not infringe third-party patents. Furthermore, a third party may claim that we or our manufacturing or commercialization collaborators are using inventions covered by the third party’s patent rights and may go to court to stop us from engaging in our normal operations and activities, including making or selling our product candidates. These lawsuits are costly and could affect our results of operations and divert the attention of managerial and scientific personnel. There is a risk that a court would decide that we or our commercialization collaborators are infringing the third party’s patents and would order us or our collaborators to stop the activities covered by the patents. In that event, we or our commercialization collaborators may not have a viable way around the patent and may need to halt commercialization of the relevant product. In addition, there is a risk that a court will order us or our collaborators to pay the other party damages for having violated the other party’s patents. In the future, we may agree to indemnify our commercial collaborators against certain intellectual property infringement claims brought by third parties. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have produced a proliferation of patents, and it is not always clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of products or methods of use. The coverage of patents is subject to interpretation by the courts, and the interpretation is not always uniform.

If we are sued for patent infringement, we would need to demonstrate that our products or methods either do not infringe the patent claims of the relevant patent or that the patent claims are invalid, and we may not be able to do this. Proving invalidity is difficult. For example, in the United States, proving invalidity requires a showing of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption of validity enjoyed by issued patents. Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs and divert management’s time and attention in pursuing these proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on us. If we are unable to avoid infringing the patent rights of others, we may be required to seek a license, which may not be available, defend an infringement action or challenge the validity of the patents in court. Patent litigation is costly and time consuming. We may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion. In addition, if we do not obtain a license, develop or obtain non-infringing technology, fail to defend an infringement action successfully or have infringed patents declared invalid, we may incur substantial monetary damages, encounter significant delays in bringing our product candidates to market and be precluded from manufacturing or selling our product candidates.

We cannot be certain that others have not filed patent applications for technology covered by our pending applications, or that we were the first to invent the technology, because:

Our competitors may have filed, and may in the future file, patent applications covering technology similar to ours. Any such patent application may have priority over our patent applications, which could further require us to obtain rights to issued patents covering such technologies. If another party has filed a U.S. patent application on inventions similar to ours, we may have to participate in an interference proceeding declared by the USPTO to determine priority of invention in the United States. The costs of these proceedings could be substantial, and it is possible that such efforts would be unsuccessful if, unbeknownst to us, the other party had independently arrived at the same or similar invention prior to our own invention, resulting in a loss of our U.S. patent position with respect to such inventions. Other countries have similar laws that permit secrecy of patent applications, and may be entitled to priority over our applications in such jurisdictions.

Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the

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initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations.

Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuity fees and various other governmental fees on patents and/or applications will be due to be paid to the USPTO and various governmental patent agencies outside of the United States in several stages over the lifetime of the patents and/or applications. We have systems in place to remind us to pay these fees, and we employ an outside firm and rely on our outside counsel to pay these fees due to non-U.S. patent agencies. The USPTO and various non-U.S. governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. We employ reputable law firms and other professionals to help us comply, and in many cases, an inadvertent lapse can be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules. However, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, our competitors might be able to enter the market and this circumstance would have a material adverse effect on our business.

We may be subject to claims that our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their former employers. If we are not able to adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information, the value of our technology and products could be significantly diminished.

As is common in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, we employ individuals who were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. We may be subject to claims that these employees, or we, have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

We rely on trade secrets to protect our proprietary technologies, especially where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. We rely in part on confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, outside scientific collaborators, sponsored researchers and other advisors to protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information. These agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, others may independently discover our trade secrets and proprietary information. For example, the FDA, as part of its Transparency Initiative, is currently considering whether to make additional information publicly available on a routine basis, including information that we may consider to be trade secrets or other proprietary information, and it is not clear at the present time how the FDA’s disclosure policies may change in the future, if at all. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position.

We have not yet registered our trademarks and failure to secure those registrations could adversely affect our business.

If we seek to register any of our trademarks, our trademark applications may not be allowed for registration or our registered trademarks may not be maintained or enforced. During trademark registration proceedings, we may receive rejections. Although we are given an opportunity to respond to those rejections, we may be unable to overcome such rejections. In addition, in the USPTO and in comparable agencies in many other jurisdictions, third parties are given an opportunity to oppose pending trademark applications and to seek to cancel registered trademarks. Opposition or cancellation proceedings may be filed against our trademarks, and our trademarks may not survive such proceedings. If we do not secure registrations for our trademarks, we may encounter more difficulty in enforcing them against third parties than we otherwise would.

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In addition, we have not yet proposed a proprietary name for any of our product candidates, including OCA, in any jurisdiction. Any proprietary name we propose to use with OCA in the United States must be approved by the FDA, regardless of whether we have registered it, or applied to register it, as a trademark. The FDA typically conducts a review of proposed product names, including an evaluation of potential for confusion with other product names. If the FDA objects to any of our proposed proprietary product names, we may be required to expend significant additional resources in an effort to identify a suitable proprietary product name that would qualify under applicable trademark laws, not infringe the existing rights of third parties and be acceptable to the FDA.

Risks Relating to Owning Our Common Stock

The trading market in our common stock has been extremely limited and substantially less liquid than the average trading market for a stock quoted on the NASDAQ Global Market.

Since our initial listing on the NASDAQ Global Market on October 11, 2012, the trading market in our common stock has been extremely limited and substantially less liquid than the average trading market for companies quoted on the NASDAQ Global Market. The quotation of our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market does not assure that a meaningful, consistent and liquid trading market currently exists. We cannot predict whether a more active market for our common stock will develop in the future. An absence of an active trading market could adversely affect our stockholders’ ability to sell our common stock at current market prices in short time periods, or possibly at all. Additionally, market visibility for our common stock may be limited and such lack of visibility may have a depressive effect on the market price for our common stock. As of December 31, 2012, approximately 63.0% of our outstanding shares of common stock was held by our officers, directors, beneficial owners of 5% or more of our securities and their respective affiliates, which adversely affects the liquidity of the trading market for our common stock, in as much as federal securities laws restrict sales of our shares by these stockholders. If our affiliates continue to hold their shares of common stock, there will be limited trading volume in our common stock, which may make it more difficult for investors to sell their shares or increase the volatility of our stock price. In addition, as of December 31, 2012, 11,594,188 shares of common stock, or 70.2% of our outstanding shares, were restricted from resale under securities laws or as a result of lock-up agreements, further limiting the liquidity of our common stock; however, such lock-up agreements will expire at the close of business on April 8, 2013.

Our share price may be volatile, which could subject us to securities class action litigation and result in substantial losses to our stockholders.

The trading price of our common stock is highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. Since our initial public offering which occurred in October 2012, the price of our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market has ranged from $17.96 per share to $42.67 per share. In addition to the factors discussed in this “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, these factors include:

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Furthermore, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. These fluctuations often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations, as well as general economic, political and market conditions such as recessions, interest rate changes or international currency fluctuations, may negatively impact the market price of shares of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, such fluctuations could subject us to securities class action litigation, which could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business. As a result of this volatility, our stockholders could incur substantial losses.

We have a significant stockholder, which will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and may give rise to conflicts of interest.

Genextra S.p.A., together with its affiliates, whom we refer to collectively as Genextra, is our largest stockholder. As of December 31, 2012, Genextra owned 7,187,217 shares of our common stock and warrants to purchase an additional 865,381 shares of our common stock. The shares of common stock owned by Genextra represented approximately 43.5% of our outstanding shares of common stock as of December 31, 2012. Accordingly, Genextra exerts significant influence over us and any action requiring the approval of the holders of our common stock, including the election of directors, amendments to our organizational documents, such as increases in our authorized shares of common stock, and approval of significant corporate transactions. This concentration of voting power makes it less likely that any other holder of common stock or directors of our business will be able to affect the way we are managed and could delay or prevent an acquisition of us on terms that other stockholders may desire. In addition, if Genextra obtains a majority of our common stock, Genextra would be able to control all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval,

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as well as our management and affairs. For example, Genextra would be able to control the election of directors, amendments to our organizational documents and approval of any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets or other business combination or reorganization. In addition, if Genextra obtains a majority of our common stock, we would be deemed a “controlled company” for purposes of NASDAQ listing requirements. Under NASDAQ rules, a “controlled company” may elect not to comply with certain NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, including (i) the requirement that a majority of our board of directors consist of independent directors, (ii) the requirement that the compensation of our officers be determined or recommended to the board by a majority of independent directors or a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors, and (iii) the requirement that director nominees be selected or recommended to the board by a majority of independent directors or a nominating committee that is composed of entirely independent directors.

Furthermore, the interests of Genextra may not always coincide with your interests or the interests of other stockholders and Genextra may act in a manner that advances its best interests and not necessarily those of other stockholders, including seeking a premium value for its common stock, and might affect the prevailing market price for our common stock. Our board of directors, which consists of seven directors, including two affiliated with Genextra, has the power to set the number of directors on our board from time to time.

Being a public company has increased and will continue to increase our expenses and administrative burden.

As a public company, we are incurring, and will continue to incur, significant legal, insurance, accounting and other expenses. In addition, our administrative staff is required to perform additional tasks and we are required to bear all of the internal and external costs of preparing and distributing periodic public reports in compliance with our obligations under the securities laws.

In addition, laws, regulations and standards applicable to public companies relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and related regulations implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the NASDAQ Stock Market, are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment will result in increased general and administrative expenses and may divert management’s time and attention from product development activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be harmed. In connection with our initial public offering, we increased our directors’ and officers’ insurance coverage, which increased our insurance cost. In the future, it may be more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors, particularly to serve on our audit committee and compensation committee, and qualified executive officers.

We are an “emerging growth company” and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies could make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, and we have and intend to continue to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

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We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we have and may continue to rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile. We may take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” We will remain an “emerging growth company” until the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1 billion or more; (ii) December 31, 2017; (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years; or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting in the future, we may not be able to accurately report our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our common stock.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal controls for financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. Commencing with our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2013, we will be required, under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This assessment will need to include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a control deficiency, or combination of control deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting that results in more than a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act also generally requires an attestation from our independent registered public accounting firm on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. However, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.

Our compliance with Section 404 will require that we incur substantial accounting expense and expend significant management efforts. We currently do not have an internal audit group, and we will need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge, and compile the system and process documentation necessary to perform the evaluation needed to comply with Section 404. We may not be able to complete our evaluation, testing and any required remediation in a timely fashion. During the evaluation and testing process, if we identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we will be unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. We cannot assure you that there will not be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting in the future. Any failure to maintain internal control over financial reporting could severely inhibit our ability to accurately report our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. If we are unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm determines we have a material weakness or significant deficiency in our internal control over financial reporting once that firm begin its Section 404 reviews, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our common stock could decline, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the NASDAQ, the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory authorities. Failure to remedy any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, or to implement or maintain other effective control systems required of public companies, could also restrict our future access to the capital markets.

Our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all errors or acts of fraud.

We are subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to reasonably assure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission. We believe that any disclosure controls and procedures or internal controls and

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procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met.

These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by an unauthorized override of the controls. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in our control system, misstatements or insufficient disclosure due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

A significant portion of our total outstanding shares of common stock is restricted from resale but may be sold into the market in the near future. This could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could occur in the future. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares of common stock intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We are unable to predict the effect that sales may have on the prevailing market price of our common stock.

As of December 31, 2012, we had 16,526,885 shares of common stock outstanding. Of these shares, 4,932,697 shares may be resold in the public market immediately and the remaining 11,594,188 shares are currently restricted under securities laws or as a result of lock-up agreements entered into in connection with our initial public offering but will be able to be resold on April 9, 2013, the first day after the lock-up expires, subject to Rule 144. Sales of stock by these stockholders could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock.

In addition, holders of an aggregate of 12,667,685 shares of our common stock, including shares underlying options and warrants of such holders, will have rights, subject to certain conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering their shares or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other stockholders. We have registered 2,051,028 shares of common stock that may be issued under our equity compensation plans and, as such, they can be freely sold in the public market upon issuance and once vested, subject to applicable lock-up agreements. Any sales of securities by these stockholders, option holders and warrant holders could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock.

Future sales and issuances of our common stock or rights to purchase common stock pursuant to our equity incentive plans and our outstanding warrants could result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our stockholders and could cause our share price to fall.

We expect that significant additional capital will be needed in the future to continue our planned operations. To the extent we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience substantial dilution. We may sell common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. If we sell common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in more than one transaction, investors may be materially diluted by subsequent sales. Such sales may also result in material dilution to our existing stockholders, and new investors could gain rights superior to our existing stockholders.

Pursuant to our 2012 Equity Incentive Plan, or the 2012 Plan, our management is authorized to grant stock options and other equity-based awards to our employees, directors and consultants. As of January 1, 2013, we had outstanding options to purchase 1,526,150 shares and restricted stock units for 176,188 shares of common stock. Furthermore, as of such date, 1,009,765 were reserved for future issuance under the 2012 Plan (including 661,075 shares of common stock added to the 2012 Plan in January 2013 in accordance with its terms). Sales of shares granted under our equity incentive plans or upon exercise of warrants may result in material dilution to our existing stockholders, which could cause our share price to fall.

The number of shares available for future grant under the 2012 Plan will automatically increase each year by up to 4% of all shares of our capital stock outstanding as of December 31 of the prior calendar year, subject to the ability of our board of directors to take action to reduce the size of the increase in any given

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year. Currently, we plan to register the 661,075 additional shares of common stock that were added to the 2012 Plan on January 1, 2013 under this provision, and the increased number of shares available for issuance under the 2012 Plan each year. If our board of directors elects to increase the number of shares available for future grant by the maximum amount each year, our stockholders may experience additional dilution, which could cause our stock price to fall.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock is influenced by the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. There can be no assurance that analysts will continue to cover us or provide favorable coverage. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or change their opinion of our stock, our share price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.

NASDAQ may delist our securities from its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

If we fail to maintain the listing of our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market, the liquidity for our common stock would be significantly impaired, which may substantially decrease the trading price of our common stock. We cannot assure you that, in the future, our securities will meet the continued listing requirements to be listed on NASDAQ. If NASDAQ delists our common stock from trading on its exchange, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

Some provisions of our charter documents and Delaware law may have anti-takeover effects that could discourage an acquisition of us by others, even if an acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders, and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.

Provisions in our restated certificate of incorporation and by-laws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us or increase the cost of acquiring us, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders. These provisions include:

These provisions may also frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management or members of our board of directors. In addition, we are subject to Section 203 of the

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Delaware General Corporation Law, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with an interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless such transactions are approved by our board of directors. This provision could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control, whether or not it is desired by or beneficial to our stockholders. Further, other provisions of Delaware law may also discourage, delay or prevent someone from acquiring us or merging with us.

Claims for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful stockholder claims against us and may reduce the amount of money available to us.

As permitted by Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our restated certificate of incorporation limits the liability of our directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. In addition, as permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws provide that we shall indemnify, to the fullest extent authorized by the Delaware General Corporation Law, each person who is involved in any litigation or other proceeding because such person is or was a director or officer of our company or is or was serving as an officer or director of another entity at our request, against all expense, loss or liability reasonably incurred or suffered in connection therewith. Our restated certificate of incorporation provides that the right to indemnification includes the right to be paid expenses incurred in defending any proceeding in advance of its final disposition, provided, however, that such advance payment will only be made upon delivery to us of an undertaking, by or on behalf of the director or officer, to repay all amounts so advanced if it is ultimately determined that such director is not entitled to indemnification. If we do not pay a proper claim for indemnification in full within 60 days after we receive a written claim for such indemnification, except in the case of a claim for an advancement of expenses, in which case such period is 20 days, our restated certificate of incorporation and our restated bylaws authorize the claimant to bring an action against us and prescribe what constitutes a defense to such action.

Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law permits a corporation to indemnify any director or officer of the corporation against expenses (including attorney’s fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred in connection with any action, suit or proceeding brought by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer of the corporation, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner that he reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, if he or she had no reason to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. In a derivative action (i.e., one brought by or on behalf of the corporation), indemnification may be provided only for expenses actually and reasonably incurred by any director or officer in connection with the defense or settlement of such an action or suit if such person acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification shall be provided if such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation, unless and only to the extent that the court in which the action or suit was brought shall determine that the defendant is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses despite such adjudication of liability.

The rights conferred in the restated certificate of incorporation and the restated bylaws are not exclusive, and we are authorized to enter into indemnification agreements with our directors, officers, employees and agents and to obtain insurance to indemnify such persons. We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our officers and directors.

The above limitations on liability and our indemnification obligations limit the personal liability of our directors and officers for monetary damages for breach of their fiduciary duty as directors by shifting the burden of such losses and expenses to us. Although we have increased the coverage under our directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, certain liabilities or expenses covered by our indemnification obligations may not be covered by such insurance or the coverage limitation amounts may be exceeded. As a result, we may need to use a significant amount of our funds to satisfy our indemnification obligations, which could severely harm our business and financial condition and limit the funds available to stockholders who may choose to bring a claim against our company.

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We do not anticipate paying cash dividends, and accordingly, stockholders must rely on stock appreciation for any return on their investment.

We do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the future. As a result, only appreciation of the market price of our common stock, which may never occur, will provide a return to stockholders. Investors seeking cash dividends should not invest in our common stock.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

As of December 31, 2012, we had federal net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, of $70.2 million, which expire from 2024 through 2032. Our ability to utilize our NOLs may be limited under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. The limitations apply if an ownership change, as defined by Section 382, occurs. Generally, an ownership change occurs when certain shareholders increase their aggregate ownership by more than 50 percentage points over their lowest ownership percentage in a testing period (typically three years). We have assessed whether one or more ownership changes as defined under Section 382 have occurred since our inception and have determined that there have been at least two such changes. Accordingly, although we believe that these ownership changes have not resulted in material limitations on our ability to use these NOLs, our ability to utilize the aforementioned carryforwards may be limited. Additionally, U.S. tax laws limit the time during which these carryforwards may be utilized against future taxes. As a result, we may not be able to take full advantage of these carryforwards for federal and state tax purposes. Future changes in stock ownership may also trigger an ownership change and, consequently, a Section 382 limitation.

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None.

Our corporate headquarters and clinical development operations are located in New York, New York and San Diego, California, where we lease and occupy approximately 3,500 and 12,700 square feet of space, respectively.

The lease for our New York office expires in November 2013. We are currently seeking additional office space for our New York location.

In March 2013, we entered into an amendment to the lease for our San Diego office, which, among other things, added approximately 5,100 square feet of space and extended the term of the existing lease. The lease for our San Diego office, as amended, will expire in December 2015.

We are not a party to any legal proceedings and we are not aware of any claims or actions pending or threatened against us. In the future, we might from time to time become involved in litigation relating to claims arising from our ordinary course of business.

Not applicable

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PART II

Market Information

Our common stock began trading on the NASDAQ Global Market on October 11, 2012 under the symbol “ICPT”. Prior to that time, there was no public market for our common stock. Shares sold in our initial public offering on October 10, 2012 were priced at $15.00 per share.

On March 15, 2013, the closing price for our common stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Market was $37.55. The following table sets forth the high and low sales prices per share of our common stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Market for the period indicated.

Year Ended December 31, 2012		High				Low
Fourth Quarter (beginning October 11, 2012)		$	35.99			$	17.96

Stockholders

As of March 15, 2013, there were 92 stockholders of record, which excludes stockholders whose shares were held in nominee or street name by brokers. We believe that, when our record holders and stockholders whose shares are held in nominee or street name by brokers are combined, we have in excess of 300 beneficial holders of our common stock.

Performance Graph

The following graph illustrates a comparison of the total cumulative stockholder return for our common stock since October 10, 2012, which is the date our initial public offering, to two indices: the NASDAQ Composite Index and the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index. The graph assumes an initial investment of $100 on October 10, 2012, in our common stock, the stocks comprising the NASDAQ Composite Index, and the stocks comprising the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index. Historical stockholder return is not necessarily indicative of the performance to be expected for any future periods.

Comparison of 3 Month Cumulative Total Return*
Among Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the NASDAQ Composite Index and the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index