Drugmakers Working on This Liver Disease Struggle to Find Patients for Trials
- Liver biopsy still barrier to filling trials for liver disease
- NASH is asymptomatic for years, but can lead to complications
A 3-D image of a human liver.
Source: NASA/Getty Images
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It reads like a recipe for a drug industry gold rush: a condition caused by ever-rising rates of obesity, the chance to save millions of patients from costly liver damage, and a market predicted to reach as much as $40 billion by 2025.
That blockbuster potential has put Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc., Genfit and more than a dozen companies in a race to develop treatments for the liver disease known as NASH, or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.