This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
ILC 2018 offers hope in autoimmune liver disease: PBC, PSC, hepatitis
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
PARIS — In this exclusive interview, Gideon M. Hirschfield, MD, PhD, from the Centre for Liver Research, University of Birmingham, discusses the latest developments in treatments for primary biliary cholangitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis and autoimmune hepatitis, as presented at the International Liver Congress 2018.
“It’s a very exciting meeting for us autoimmune liver disease world, because across the three diseases all with unmet need — PBC, PSC and autoimmune hepatitis — there are opportunities to learn about new science, new therapies and new approaches to treating our patients,” Hirschfield told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease.
Among the poster exhibits and oral presentations, Hirschfield highlighted new data on autoimmune liver disease epidemiology, a PPAR-delta agonist that showed an effect on biochemistry and potential effect on itch, and new real-world data on the effects on obeticholic acid.
Additionally, Hirschfield discusses results from a study he presented during the late breakers session on an FGF19 mimetic that showed impressive effects on fibrosis turnover in patients with PSC.
“In liver disease, liver biopsy is key, but liver biopsy is not a very patient-friendly test,” Hirschfield said. “We’re all working toward better ways to evaluate novel therapies that can improve histology, ultimately, but we can identify the effect much quicker through surrogate markers of inflammation and surrogate markers of fibrosis.”
For more information:
Boudes P, et al. THU-238. Presented at: International Liver Congress; Apr. 11-15, 2018; Paris, France.
Hirschfield G, et al. LBO-002. Presented at: International Liver Congress; Apr. 11-15, 2018; Paris, France.
Hirschfield G, et al. THU-231. Presented at: International Liver Congress; Apr. 11-15, 2018; Paris, France.
Disclosure: Hirschfield reports advisory or review panel roles with GlaxoSmithKline and Intercept Pharma; consulting roles with Cymabay and Novartis; and he received grant or research support from BioTie, Falk Pharma, and Takeda.