Siemens Healthineers is joining forces with Novo to help boost awareness and diagnosis of fatty liver disease.
The collaboration is focused on people living with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and its progressive form, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
These conditions, much like hypertension, are typically “silent” in that they cause few or no symptoms until much later in the disease, which can make treatment much more difficult.
These types of fatty liver disease are more prevalent in patients with obesity and diabetes and can, if left untreated, cause liver damage, scarring, liver failure and, in some cases, death.
Diet and exercise are often initially advised in earlier stages to help reduce fat in the liver, but there have been years of research aimed at drugging the problem in those with more advanced forms of the disease.
Many of those drugs failed to meet the mark, but the approval of Madrigal’s Rezdiffra in 2024, the first drug approved for MASH, helped spur research in the area.
Novo also nabbed approval last year for its obesity drug Wegovy to treat adults with noncirrhotic MASH and moderate to advanced liver fibrosis, while Siemens Healthineers markets its ELF Test blood test to help assess the risk of disease progression in patients with advanced fibrosis due to MASH.
Siemens promotes the test as a less invasive option than liver biopsy and one that does not require specialized imaging equipment.
Diagnosis of the condition and awareness remain low, however, even though nearly a quarter of U.S. adults have MASLD. It is also the leading indication for liver transplant among women. Healthcare costs associated with the disease are projected to surpass $635 billion by the end of the decade, according to Siemens Healthineers.
Both companies aim to change that with the team up. The idea is to boost awareness of the condition, encourage earlier assessment and expand access to less invasive testing, such as blood tests, with the goal of finding the disease at an earlier, more treatable stage.
“Too often, liver health flies under the radar," said Michele Zwickl, head of Laboratory Solutions for Siemens Healthineers North America, in a release. “People deserve the same level of awareness as for other major diseases, creating a better opportunity to intervene before serious complications develop.”
“Earlier triage is one of the most important opportunities to improve the future of MASH care," added Michelle Long, senior international medical director for MASH at Novo.
“Our collaboration recognizes that patients, clinicians, laboratories, health systems and industry partners all have a role to play in creating a more effective pathway for liver disease assessment and management.”