Introducing our guest surfer, Stephen Harrison describes Lars Johansson’s Paris NASH talk as “remarkable and intriguing.” Lars begins his comments by discussing the use of PET tracers to target fibrosis through Collagen Type I cells as well as hepatic stellate cell activation through PDGFR beta. He and Stephen go on to discuss two critical ways the resulting insights can change drug development: first by identifying the correct circulating blood biomarkers to include in different trials or pieces of research, and second by optimizing combination therapies based on the specific effects each agent has on the fibrosis and fibrogenesis processes. On the latter issue, Stephen suggests this approach might have benefit not only in NASH but also a broader range of metabolic diseases Lars concurs.
