Summary
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a condition that affects 25% of the population.
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a progressive form of the disease that can
lead to severe complications such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Despite
its high prevalence, no drugs are currently approved for the treatment of NASH. The
drug development pipeline in NASH is very active, yet most assets do not progress
to phase III trials and those that do reach phase III often fail to achieve the endpoints
necessary for approval by regulatory agencies. Amongst other reasons, the methodological
and operational features of traditional clinical trials in NASH might impede optimal
drug development. In this regard, platform trials might be an attractive complement
or alternative to conventional clinical trials. Platform trials use a master protocol
which enables evaluation of multiple investigational medicinal products concurrently
or sequentially with a single, shared control arm. Through Bayesian interim analyses,
these trials allow for early exit of drugs from the trial based on success or futility,
while providing participants better chances of receiving active compounds through
adaptive randomisation. Overall, platform trials represent an alternative for patients,
pharmaceutical companies, and clinicians in the quest to accelerate the approval of
pharmacologic treatments for NASH.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 07, 2022
Accepted:
September 20,
2022
Received in revised form:
September 7,
2022
Received:
July 26,
2022
Footnotes
Author names in bold designate shared co-first authorship
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