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Last week, roughly 5,000 liver community stakeholders gathered in London for the 2022 International Liver Congress (#ILC2022,) the first major hepatology Congress to be held in person since the start of the pandemic (smaller, but very valuable, meetings like NASH-TAG, LiverCONNECT and Paris NASH have taken place with an in-person component, but the International Liver Congress and The Liver Meeting have not). On the last full day of the program, several vitally important drug development studies were presented during the late-breaker and dedicated sessions. The conversations in this episode will review some of the most important findings. This particular conversation focuses on the semaglutide cirrhosis late-breaker and, more broadly, what panelists consider the presentation from this Congress most likely to effect change over the next 2-3 years.

Because Stephen Harrison needs to depart, the episode starts with him answering a question about the most consequential paper in the Congress. He focuses on the resmetirom late-breaker, which presages potential drug approval within the next 18 months. Jörn Schattenberg takes a different tack, identifying the semaglutide cirrhosis late-breaker instead. Jörn notes that the study did not achieve its primary endpoint of 1-level fibrosis reduction in 48 weeks, but cites other studies and experiences to suggest this is very, very hard to achieve for any drug. Jörn continued to suggest that semaglutide's safety level combined with the ability to help patients lose weight and reduce their HbA1c levels means this can be a valuable drug for Fatty Liver patients as well as diabetics and people with obesity, the currently indicated patient populations. 

From here, the group provides answers to the "most consequential presentation" question and the conversation comes to an end.