S5 - E20.6 - From the Vault: FGF-21s and "Twin-cretins" At EASL Congress 2023

Send us Fan MailIn this conversation from July 2023, Stephen Harrison, Jörn Schattenberg and Roger Green discuss the implications of presentations on the FGF-21 agent efruxifermin and the dual GLP/glucagon agonists pemvidutide and efinopegdutide. Here is the description Roger wrote for the original conversation:In this session, conversation shifts from resmetirom to Mazen Noureddin's "NASH Monopoly" game and focuses on the value of FGF-21s and glucagon agents. Stephen posits two comments about GLP-1s. First, there is now adequate data suggesting that GLP-1s will not melt away all liver fat and as a result lead to dramatic fibrosis regression. Second, we know from a small sub-cohort of patients in Akero's SYMMETRY trial that patients already on fairly low doses of GLP-1s saw what Stephen describes as an 'incredible' and incremental benefit for the FGF-21 agent, efruxifermin. The group notes that while glucagon dual and treble agents are likely to produce dramatically more robust results in weight loss and liver defatting than GLP-1s alone, they still seem unlikely to 'usurp the need for other types of agents.' From here discussion considers the FGF-21 class. Stephen notes that two drugs, efruxifermin and pegozafermin, have demonstrated significant efficacy against fibrosis. As the conversation concludes, the panelists agree that earlier, more aggressive screening to arrest cirrhosis will become pivotal and will not occur until the right drug becomes available.