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The wider community of liver stakeholders witnessed an exciting July as new compelling data and presentations were revealed across two major meetings, EASL Congress and the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions. Throughout that month, SurfingNASH provided real-time coverage and review of the emerging stories spanning topics like drug development, new nomenclature, omics and AI, NITs and more. For this episode the trio of co-hosts, Jörn Schattenberg, Louise Campbell and Roger Green, embark on their first exclusive discussion together in a while without any guest panelists. The overarching theme of the program observes what has made 2023 interesting and exciting thus far before offering a look into what the audience can expect to learn more about in the imminent months.

Louise starts by detailing a paper that she recently co-authored on 'The Accuracy of Ultrasound Controlled Attenuation Parameter (CAP) in Diagnosing Hepatic Fat Content.' The aim of this study was to delineate the accuracy of CAP in diagnosing hepatic steatosis, compared to the gold standard of liver biopsy. From here, Jörn shares his take on the biggest stories of the year thus far. He begins by recounting the December 2022 press release of positive Phase 3 topline results for resmetirom and describes how the data was presented at EASL Congress 2023. Jörn highlights his excitement for analyzing these results on the podcast with Stephen Harrison, Principle Investigator of the MAESTRO studies. Secondly, Jörn underscores the adoption of new nomenclature as an obvious hallmark of the year.

Roger notes several developments in the resmetirom story following the EASL presentation, namely around a submission to FDA and potential timeline for approval. Louise suggests that, "from the patient advocacy perspective, there has to be something approved shortly to prove that the path that the FDA has set is actually achievable." The group also explores the importance behind having quality of life measures as opposed to solely targeting histological improvement of fibrosis. These ideas lead Roger to register his interest in developing understanding around the role of inflammation which has been explored more recently on the podcast.

The conversation shifts to consider the new nomenclature and what activities are required in its successful implementation. Several important ideas emerge around education and moving forward collectively in continued pursuit of promoting liver health and saving lives. Jörn summarizes that fundamentally the patients and the disease remain the same and that there is actionable knowledge around how to prevent, diagnose and treat. As the session winds down, the trio focus on providing a glimpse into what's coming up for the SurfingNASH program. Listen on to learn more about what you can expect to hear from the Surfers!

If you have questions or comments around the EASL Congress or ADA meetings, the discussed therapeutics, new nomenclature, or any other topic addressed in this episode, we kindly ask that you submit reviews wherever you download the discourse. Alternatively, you can write to us directly at [email protected].

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