As International #NASHDay 2023 approaches on June 8th, Surfing NASH dedicates a session to explore what makes this year’s occasion incredibly important for patient advocacy and what we all can consider in preparation. Founder, President and CEO of the Global Liver Institute (GLI), Donna Cryer, shares her anticipations alongside Pamela Danagher (Terns Pharmaceuticals) and co-hosts Jörn Schattenberg and Roger Green.
00:00 Introduction
04:43 This Year’s Theme: #StepUpToNASH
20:05 The Untapped Potential of the Liver Community
27:54 Activating Awareness Across Communities
37:09 “It Takes a Village”
04:43 This Year’s Theme: #StepUpToNASH
Donna begins by acknowledging the goal of facilitating and catalyzing all stakeholders to discover what fatty liver disease and NASH means to them. She goes on to describe that this #NASHDay is embedded in the context of a momentous series of activities. Among these activities could be the milestone of a NASH drug approval, which requires a tremendous push for patient advocacy, education and regulatory organization. Jörn recalls his participation in the inaugural launch of #NASHDay in 2018, highlighting the unique and intimate qualities which characterize the campaign as community-centered.
20:05 The Untapped Potential of the Liver Community
Roger asks Donna to point to one thing that happened in 2022 that had ripples in the pond of liver disease. He also wonders what will stimulate folks to think about what to do this year in terms of having an effect on the outlook and agenda of 2024. Donna highlights distributing over $100,000 in community grants to support organizations to host global events around NASH education and advocacy. The investments have since led to strengthening partnerships and programs to promote liver health in places like Africa and India. One such partnering activity that has seen an explosion in energy is NASH clinical trial recruitment. Pam emphasizes the utility behind strong clinical trial recruitment for continued drug development in a post-approval environment.
27:54 Activating Awareness Across Communities
The group considers what activating awareness looks like in different community settings. Donna notes the opportunity for larger companies to be involved in educating their employees on liver health. Jörn notes that simple communication within families is critical because we know there are higher rates of incidence in fatty liver disease for those sharing common genetics, diets and environments. Pam discusses the role of noninvasive technologies in screening/diagnosing patients and developing robust and accessible trial entry points. This prompts Donna to express interest in conducting mobile FibroScan clinics. As ideas continue to flow, it is also noted that fatty liver disease could benefit from having a celebrity patient advocate. Donna shouts out to baseball player and musician, Bernie Williams, for lending his voice to awareness around liver health.
37:09 “It Takes a Village”
As the session winds down, each panelists proposes a few additional “step ups” to consider for this year’s #NASHDay. Jörn looks to plan early at his own clinic in addition to engaging the professional societies. Roger suggests obesity to be an intertwined area of focus for collaboration. From an industry perspective, Pam is interested in improving regulatory and drug development through opportunities to streamline or simplify their various processes. Finally, Donna departs and the remaining three panelists share final thoughts around what they look forward to in this year’s day dedicated to fighting Fatty Liver.
If you enjoy the episode, have questions or interest around participating in #NASHDay 2023, please let us know your ideas by writing to questions@SurfingNASH.com.
Stay Safe and Surf On!
