Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent chronic liver disease worldwide and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), its progressive form, is rapidly becoming the leading cause of end-stage liver disease and liver
transplantation.

The rise in obesity and other lifestyle-related diseases has resulted in a significant increase in the number of NAFLD/NASH patients; however, physicians still face many challenges in managing the disease, the most basic of which is the lack of awareness of the disease and its sequelae.

A recent whitepaper by IQVIA points out that the lack of established guidelines in the diagnosis and management of NAFLD/NASH is a critical issue that needs to be addressed, as well as the limited treatment options with no approved medications for this disease.

Conducting well designed clinical trials with meaningful endpoints and less invasive procedures will accelerate the development of potentially efficacious treatments for NASH.

Measures to improve the NAFLD/NASH clinical trial environment are imperative to respond to the need for more available approved therapeutic options to manage the disease.

The whitepaper also states that establishing a clear patient pathway for referrals and conduct of patient awareness programs may lead to identification of more patients who can be referred to specialists for further evaluation, potentially increasing the patient pool.