An update on drug development for the treatment of metabolic (dysfunction) associated fatty liver disease: Progress and opportunities

Ziyan Pan; Jian-Gao Fan; Mohammed Eslam

doi:10.1016/j.coph.2021.07.007

An update on drug development for the treatment of metabolic (dysfunction) associated fatty liver disease: Progress and opportunities

Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2021 Oct:60:170-176. doi: 10.1016/j.coph.2021.07.007. Epub 2021 Aug 26.

Authors

Ziyan Pan¹, Jian-Gao Fan², Mohammed Eslam³

Affiliations

¹ Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, Sydney, 2145, NSW, Australia.
² Center for Fatty Liver, Department of Gastroenterology, Xin Hua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Key Lab of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Shanghai, China.
³ Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, Sydney, 2145, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: mohammed.eslam@sydney.edu.au.

PMID: 34455284
DOI: 10.1016/j.coph.2021.07.007

Abstract

Despite the rising health burden of metabolic (dysfunction) associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), there are no approved pharmacotherapies for MAFLD currently. This situation led to a significant escalation in drug development and randomized controlled trials for MAFLD, particularly as novel information about its molecular pathogenesis unfolds. Currently, there are numerous investigational candidate drugs for MAFLD in various stages of clinical development that act on different pathophysiological processes, such as metabolism/steatosis, inflammation or fibrosis. Here, we provide an update on drug development for the treatment of MAFLD and discuss the prospects and challenges for improving and accelerating the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease drug discovery pipeline.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Drug Development
Humans
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / drug therapy