It is estimated as much as 40% of the world could be affected by nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), among whom some are at risk for the progressive form nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The ever-growing incidence of NAFLD has corresponded with the development of several therapeutic agents meant to treat it, none of which have yet been approved. In fact, most of these investigational products do not progress to phase 3 trials, failing to achieve the endpoints approved by regulatory agencies.
To better understand what has hindered the development of treatments in this disease space, Medscape contributor Nancy S. Reau, MD, chief of the hepatology section at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, spoke with Vlad Ratziu, MD, PhD. In addition to serving as a professor of hepatology at the Sorbonne Université and the Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière Medical School in Paris, France, Dr Ratziu is co-editor of the Journal of Hepatology and has written of the promise and challenges inherent to developing treatments for NAFLD.