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. In this first instalment comprising two distinct interviews, host Roger Green takes a deep dive into insights with two leading Key Opinion Leaders, Mazen Noureddin and Jörn Schattenberg.

The first conversation with Mazen begins with an illustrative new metaphor in which the NASH therapeutic landscape is likened to the game Monopoly. For example, if Mazen were to place multiple mechanisms of action on different streets, he says that he would assign the two most expensive streets to GLP-1s and FGF-21s. He goes on to commend and describe the promise of GLP-1s and having orals that lead to such significant weight loss as to call to question the need for bariatric procedures altogether. From here the two discuss in detail how GLP-1s are to become more accessible and what the future may hold for this drug class.

In the sequential segment featuring Jörn, Roger continues to press on pertinent issues surrounding drug development. Jörn's first note underscores growing points of intersection between different fields concerned with managing metabolic dysfunction and how different toolkits might make positive impact on liver health. Roger switches the metaphor of Monopoly to a new description of the developing therapeutic landscape akin to a desert where mirages present as promising drugs and "any drink of water is as good as any other drink." As conversation continues, Jörn and Roger expound on the subject of new nomenclature and what this will mean for different stakeholders.

The two conversations with Mazen and Jörn explore different perspectives around the complexities associated with drug development and the wider field's understanding of Steotic Liver Disease (SLD). 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!