A Legacy in Liver Disease Treatments – Sponsor Content
For decades, Gilead Sciences has been a pioneer in the treatment of liver diseases, impacting patients worldwide, helping transform hepatitis C from a chronic condition into one that millions of people have been cured of, offering treatment for HBV, and recently introducing an advancement in treatment for those living with PBC.
In this interview with NaYoung Park, vice president of Gilead Sciences’ Liver Business Unit, we delve into Gilead’s leadership in liver disease, the potential behind its recent advancement in PBC treatment, and the importance of collaborating with the healthcare community to advance education and continue to bring about cutting-edge change.
Gilead is a leader in liver disease treatments. What impact has the company had on liver disease?
NaYoung Park
We’re really proud of the legacy that we have in liver treatments here at Gilead. It spans over two decades across multiple therapeutic areas. Gilead started out at the forefront of hepatitis B treatment, where we had multiple treatments, and we continue to explore the potential for a hepatitis B cure. We have curative therapies in hepatitis C, which have allowed us to cure more than 10 million patients across 100 countries over the last 10 years. (Although, despite having curative options, the number of cases hasn’t decreased much because of the ongoing opioid crisis; approximately 70% of new infections occur in people who use drugs.) We are working to make advancements in the management of hepatitis D—which is the rarest form of viral hepatitis and the most aggressive.
Recently, we added a treatment to our portfolio, which has the potential to be impactful for people living with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).
What is PBC and who is impacted by it?
NaYoung Park
PBC is a rare liver disease that affects about 130,000 patients in the US. Globally, PBC affects 1 in 1000 women over the age of 40. It is a chronic autoimmune disease of the liver, and it slowly starts to destroy the bile ducts of the liver. It can lead to obstruction and, ultimately, liver failure—and even a need for a liver transplant. Around 50% of patients with PBC who have moderate fibrosis progress to cirrhosis within 4 years. Patients with PBC not only have severe liver disease and progression but also suffer from significant symptom burden—namely pruritus, which is severe itching, as well as fatigue. It can have a great impact on their daily life.
Why are these treatment options for patients with PBC so important?
NaYoung Park
There’s a lot of data out there to show that normalizing alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels can lead to improved outcomes. Until recently, there were limited options for patients with PBC and no treatment options that were shown to significantly reduce the burden of symptoms like pruritus. About 40% of patients don’t adequately respond to first-line treatment.
Let’s talk about Gilead’s advancements in this space. How is Gilead working to bring greater awareness of and education about PBC to both health-care providers and the community?
NaYoung Park
Education is really important for us, and it’s the cornerstone of how you advance the science. Gilead is very proud to work across a broad set of key stakeholders in the community, including healthcare providers, patients, and patient advocacy groups. Part of our focus is to partner with these stakeholders to drive awareness and advance education to reset the standard of care and treatment goals for patients.
In PBC, resetting treatment goals is about ensuring patients improve or even normalize their ALP and reduce symptom burden. In fact, with symptom burden—and pruritus, in particular—there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to understand how to ensure patients’ needs are well represented and understood.
What makes Gilead’s approach to liver disease treatment unique? And how does Gilead’s PBC work fit into this approach?
NaYoung Park
What’s really unique about Gilead is that we put the science and patients at the forefront. If you look at all our therapies for the liver—or across any of our therapeutic areas, including HIV and oncology—we are focused on driving innovation and bringing to market treatments that help meet the needs of patients.
We are also very dedicated to our partnership with the community and thought leaders in the liver space. Our long heritage in liver has fostered long-standing partnerships that enable us to ensure we are developing the right medicines, advancing the science, and ultimately addressing patient needs.
What continuing research is Gilead conducting to advance the science and bring forth solutions for those with liver disease?
NaYoung Park
Gilead continues to set bold ambitions in our fight against the world’s most devastating diseases and continues to impact the lives of the many individuals who live with liver disease. We’re continuing to advance our innovation in virology research to address the needs of these patients, whether it’s pursuing the cure for hepatitis B or helping to achieve the goals of the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in eliminating hepatitis C. Let’s finish what we started.
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