Drug Metabolism/Pharmacology News

BOSTON — Mortality rates were consistently lower in patients with severe alcohol-associated hepatitis treated with steroids during vs. before the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting infection mitigation may have benefited this population.

Bulevirtide was safe and increased the proportion of patients with undetectable hepatitis D virus RNA among those in both the 2 mg and 10 mg dosage groups, according to data published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

In a Healio video exclusive, Andreas Kremer, MD, PhD, MHBA, highlights recent data on primary biliary cholangitis presented at EASL Congress, including risk factors for disease progression and seladelpar for treatment of pruritus.

Mycophenolate mofetil was superior to azathioprine in achieving biochemical remission in treatment-naive patients with autoimmune hepatitis who were also treated with prednisolone, according to data presented at EASL Congress.

Older age, male sex and increased hepatitis B surface antigen correlated with a higher risk for hepatic flare after nucleos(t)ide analogue withdrawal in patients with chronic HBV, according to data at the EASL Congress.

In a Healio video exclusive, Pam Vig, PhD, highlights new data on Livmarli for the treatment of patients with pruritus due to progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis and Alagille syndrome, which were presented at EASL Congress.

Researchers reported no difference in rates of infection, rebleeding and mortality when antibiotic prophylaxis was given to stable patients with Child-Pugh A cirrhosis and acute variceal bleeding.

Both 80 mg and 100 mg doses of resmetirom achieved liver biopsy endpoints at 52 weeks in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and had a safety profile consistent with previous reports, according to primary MAESTRO-NASH trial results.

Healio will present its sixth annual Disruptive Innovators Awards for gastroenterology and hepatology this fall.

Although semaglutide did not “significantly improve” fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and compensated cirrhosis, notable improvements were reported in cardiometabolic parameters and markers of liver fat and injury.