NEW YORK, March 4, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ICPT) (Intercept), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel bile acid therapeutics to treat chronic liver diseases, today announced the appointment of Daniel P. Regan to the newly created position of Chief Commercial Officer. Mr. Regan is a seasoned commercial executive bringing more than 20 years of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry experience to the company.

Mr. Regan joins Intercept from Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals where he served as Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to Inspiration, he held positions of increasing responsibility over a 12 year tenure at Genzyme Corporation where he led multi-functional teams in sales, marketing and commercialization, and launched several new products into both established and smaller emerging markets. In his last position, Mr. Regan served as General Manager, Senior Vice President of the U.S. Personalized Genetic Health business, where he was responsible for the U.S. rare disease franchise. Previously, Mr. Regan was the global General Manager, Senior Vice President of the Renal franchise at Genzyme, where he was responsible for the launch of Renagel and Renvela in the U.S. and internationally, as well as for the continued development and expansion of the Hectorol franchise. In addition to his domestic experience, Mr. Regan has worked extensively in the European, Latin American and Asia Pacific markets. Prior to Genzyme, he held sales and marketing positions at Janssen Pharmaceutica, a pharmaceutical division of Johnson & Johnson.

"Dan is a proven business leader with invaluable experience in commercial strategy, marketing and general management," commented Mark Pruzanski M.D., President and CEO of Intercept. "His knowledge of the evolving U.S. and European markets and his success in the global commercialization of novel therapeutics for rare orphan and more prevalent specialty indications will serve us well as we prepare for the anticipated approval and launch of OCA."

"I am thrilled to be joining Intercept as it evolves from a development stage company to a fully integrated commercial organization," added Mr. Regan. "I look forward to working with the team to continue building on its track record of accomplishments and bring innovative therapies to patients in need."

About Intercept

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to treat orphan and more prevalent liver diseases utilizing its expertise in bile acid chemistry. The company's lead product candidate, obeticholic acid (OCA) is a bile acid analog and first-in-class agonist of the farnesoid X receptor (FXR). OCA is initially being developed for the second line treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) in patients with an inadequate response to, or who are unable to tolerate, ursodiol, the only approved therapy for this indication. OCA has received orphan drug designation in both the United States and Europe for the treatment of PBC. Intercept owns worldwide rights to OCA outside of Japan and China, where it has out-licensed the product candidate to DSP. For more information about Intercept, please visit the Company's website at: www.interceptpharma.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding Intercept's plans to develop, seek regulatory approvals for and commercialize OCA, and Intercept's strategic directives under the caption "About Intercept." These "forward-looking statements" are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the success and timing of Intercept's preclinical studies and clinical trials; Intercept's ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of OCA and any other product candidates it may develop, and the labeling under any approval it may obtain; regulatory developments in the United States and other countries; the performance of third-party manufacturers; Intercept's plans to develop and commercialize its product candidates; Intercept's ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for its product candidates; the successful development of Intercept's sales and marketing capabilities; the potential markets for Intercept's product candidates and its ability to serve those markets; the rate and degree of market acceptance of any future products; the success of competing drugs that are or become available; the loss of key scientific or management personnel; Intercept's ability to obtain additional financing; the accuracy of Intercept's estimates regarding expenses, future revenues and capital requirements; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in Intercept's quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 26, 2012, as well as any updates to these risk factors filed from time to time in Intercept's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Intercept undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.

For more information about Intercept, please contact Mark Pruzanski, M.D., or Barbara Duncan, both of Intercept Pharmaceuticals, at 1-646-747-1000.