Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is proud to support the 1st International NASH Day taking place today.
International NASH Day is taking place in more than 25 cities worldwide where patients and providers will participate in workshops, conferences and free screenings, and where the general public will be engaged in street campaigning efforts. Additionally, the initiative will be presented online, through web TV programming in 6 languages, and across global social networks.
NASH is expected to become the #1 cause of liver transplant by 2020 in the United States, and its prevalence is projected to increase globally in association with obesity and type 2-diabetes. Yet NASH operates in silence by not showing symptoms. As a result, it remains poorly-known and under-diagnosed, and as such represents a growing global public health issue in most countries worldwide. 1
“NASH is a deteriorating liver disease often associated with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. We are proud to join the NASH Education Program’s initiative to better educate physicians and patients about risk factors for NASH, a disease that is still little known in the general population,” stated Nathalie Adda, M.D., Enanta Pharmaceuticals’ Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer.
ABOUT NASH
NASH, or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, is a metabolic disease characterized by the accumulation of fat in the liver, along with inflammation and the degeneration of liver cells. The disease is associated with long-term risk of progression into diminished liver functionality, leading to non-alcoholic cirrhosis, liver insufficiency and possibly even liver cancer. It also is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases which represent the leading cause of mortality for NASH patients. The rise of NASH is connected to type 2 diabetes and obesity epidemics that are growing globally.
About the NASH Education ProgramTM
The NASH Education Program aims to bring resources and information to patients, the general public and the medical community at large. Most patients affected by NASH don’t know that they suffer from this disease until they reach the late stages of the disease. NASH is a “silent” affliction and while patients may experience fatigue or loss of appetite, their symptoms can often be associated with other conditions, making it very difficult for physicians and clinicians to get a good handle on NASH screening. By disseminating information to patients and physicians, The NASH Education Program hopes to allow for earlier diagnosis and provide patients with a chance to manage the disease by adopting drastic lifestyle changes and following a strict diet. This is often a challenge for patients, not only because those changes need to be sustained over the long term in order to be effective, but also because it requires a financial and time commitment.
About Enanta
Enanta Pharmaceuticals has used its robust, chemistry-driven approach and drug discovery capabilities to become a leader in the discovery of small molecule drugs for the treatment of viral infections and liver diseases. Two protease inhibitors, glecaprevir and paritaprevir, discovered and developed through Enanta’s collaboration with AbbVie, have now been approved in jurisdictions around the world as part of AbbVie’s direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimens for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, including the regimens marketed as MAVYRET™ (U.S.) and MAVIRET™ (ex-U.S.) (glecaprevir/pibrentasvir) and VIEKIRA PAK® (paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir/dasabuvir) (U.S.) and VIEKIRAX® (paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir) (ex-U.S.).
Royalties from the AbbVie collaboration are helping to fund Enanta’s research and development efforts, which are currently focused on the following disease targets: non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV). Please visit www.enanta.com for more information.
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1 https://www.international-nash-day.com/about-international-nash-day/about-the-1st-edition/
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180612005139/en/
Source: Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
