News

The European Medicines Association (EMA) issued a statement on Obeticholic acid (Ocaliva) for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) on 28 06 2024.

The EMA has recommended that the marketing authorisation for Ocaliva be revoked in the European Union following results of the COBALT trial, 747-302 . In the UK EMA recommendations do not apply, as we are regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). At present, there are no changes to the recommendations on use of Obeticholic acid in PBC from the MHRA or the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and so current prescribing practices should NOT change.

We shall update the UK liver community if there are any changes to the recommendations on the use of Obeticholic acid.

Please find the link to the longer statement to follow > Here .

BASL have produced this survey about liver disease service provision in the UK.

We would be extremely grateful if you could complete the short survey (which should take no longer than 10 minutes) using the link below. 

We would ask that only one response is completed for each hospital to avoid duplication.

This is part of a larger project which builds on the Lancet Liver Commission, aiming to develop a better understanding of the needs of patients requiring liver disease services across the whole of the care pathway, from early identification to specialist treatment. The national Hepatobiliary & Pancreas Clinical Reference Group (chaired by Professor Richard Aspinall) is leading work to bring about the transformation of liver disease services, reducing inequalities in terms of access, uptake and outcomes and the response to this survey will be used as supporting evidence. As Integrated Care Boards take on more responsibility for commissioning local services, the findings from this survey will clarify where there are gaps in service provision and where there are opportunities to strengthen networks to improve population health outcomes.

Although we are asking for your email address, that is purely for administrative purposes. All responses will be confidential and a final report will be produced which will not enable any individual clinicians or hospitals to be identified.

The final report will be available on the BASL website but if you would like a copy emailed to you separately, please contact angeline.walker@nhs.net .

If you have any queries about the survey, please email michael.allison6@nhs.net or angeline.walker@nhs.net .

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Please click > HERE to access and take part in the survey. 

Thank you.

Liver Cirrhosis Research

Calling all people living or working with liver disease - we need your help!

What do you think are the most important questions for liver cirrhosis research?

Scan the code in the flyer below to complete a 10 minute survey:

Download JLA-Liver-Cirrhosis-A4 Poster-May24.pdf

Or use this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Liver-cirrhosis-research 

Cases of liver disease are increasing in the UK and although a lot of research is being done, we have not developed a new treatment for liver cirrhosis in the last 20 years.

Join this webinar on Tuesday, 9th April at 5pm for an exclusive update from the UK Liver Alliance, a coalition of more than 30 organisations who are committed to improving liver health. 

From pioneering efforts in early detection within primary care to initiatives aimed at reducing variation in hospital care and driving policy change, this event promises insights that are both informative and inspiring.  Speakers include Professor Phil Newsome, Dr Rebecca Jones, Dr Andrew Yeoman and Dr Helen Jarvis.

Register here 

As many in the hepatology community are aware, HCV Research UK has been operating for more than a decade, providing clinical data and biological samples from a national cohort to support research studies into HCV infection. In total, more than 100 applications for accessing data and samples have been approved, enabling unique insight into the characteristics of infection, pathogenesis and the mechanisms underlying treatment response.

With the advent of direct acting antivirals and the progress towards elimination, there are now few applications requesting access to the resources. In addition, the clinical database has not been updated for several years. As a consequence, the HCV Research UK Management Group has decided to close provision of data and samples by the end of this year. Therefore, we would urge anyone who may wish to use the clinical data and biological samples to lodge applications by the end of May 2024. The process for applying to access HCV Research UK resources can be found at www.hcvresearchuk.co.uk . We also suggest contacting either Will Irving (will.irving@nottingham.ac.uk) or John McLauchlan (john.mclauchlan@glasgow.ac.uk) in the first instance. This would allow sufficient time to process the applications, complete the necessary MTAs, prepare the clinical data and set aside any samples that would be needed for any research studies.

The Management Group wishes to express its gratitude to the clinical teams and HCV Research UK staff whose commitment and efforts enabled the creation of a national cohort. Finally, we will be forever grateful to the individuals living with the virus who generously provided their clinical data and samples to the benefit of studies that have deepened our knowledge of HCV infection.

HCV Research UK Management Group

Professor Will Irving (University of Nottingham)
Professor John McLauchlan (University of Glasgow)
Professor John Dillon (University of Dundee)
Professor Sharon Hutchinson (Glasgow Caledonian University