Throughout the month of July, Surfing NASH embarks on a series of episodes dedicated to takeaways emerging from a busy last few weeks at both the 2023 EASL Congress in Vienna and the American Diabetes Association’s 83rd Scientific Sessions meeting in San Diego.

This first installment comprises two distinct 1:1 interviews with Tsunami co-host Roger Green, one with key opinion leader Mazen Noureddin and the other with co-host Jörn Schattenberg.

This first conversation with Mazen begins with comments on the many excellent drug development studies emerging from both EASL Congress and the ADA’s Scientific Sessions meeting. While the two share exceptional results, they also explore potential downsides in terms of tolerability and longterm antibody inflammation. An illustrative new metaphor is coined by Mazen in which the NASH therapeutic landscape is likened to the game Monopoly. In “NASH Monopoly,” each street or monopoly presents a mechanisms of action. The two most expensive streets to GLP-1s and FGF-21s. He goes on to commend and describe the promise of GLP-1s and the double and triple agents in development as leading to such significant weight loss that some question the need for bariatric procedures altogether.

Both conversations with Mazen and Jörn explore different perspectives around the complexities associated with drug development and the wider field’s understanding of Steatotic Liver Disease (SLD). Stay tuned for more in the subsequent conversations to be released. If you have any questions or comments around these meetings, the discussed therapeutics or the new nomenclature, we kindly ask that you submit reviews wherever you download the discourse. Alternatively, you can write to us directly at questions@SurfingNASH.com.

Stay Safe and Surf On!