The FDA's granting of breakthrough designation for Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s obeticholic acid (OCA) in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) put the U.S. regulators on record about the disease – its dangers and the need for new therapies, "the first time that this has been acknowledged formally by the agency" outside of workshops, noted Deutsche Bank analyst Alethia Young in an email alert to investors Friday.