Advances in Primary Biliary Cholangitis: Expert Insights on Emerging Data and Key Treatment Innovations - Episode 6

How Special Populations and Disease Risk Impact Treatment Assessment in PBC

Published on: February 9, 2026

Frances Lee, MD, Aparna Goel, MD, A. Sidney Barritt IV, MD, MSCR, Lance L. Stein, MD

Healthcare professionals discuss individualized approaches to second-line therapy for liver disease, considering patient age, fibrosis, and insurance challenges.

EP. 1: An Overview of PBC Pathophysiology, Severity, and Burden

EP. 2: Key Symptoms of PBC- Fatigue, Pruritus, and Bone Health

EP. 3: Assessing Disease Severity and Progression Risk in PBC

EP. 4: Diagnostic Criteria in PBC: What Clinicians are Looking For

EP. 5: Experts Review the First- and Second-Line Treatment Options for PBC

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EP. 6: How Special Populations and Disease Risk Impact Treatment Assessment in PBC

EP. 7: The Efficacy of PPAR Agonists in PBC: Signals of Extrahepatic Improvements

EP. 8: The Safety of PPAR Agonists in PBC: Reviewing Recent Trial Data

In “How Special Populations and Disease Risk Impact Treatment Assessment in PBC,” our experts delve into the nuances of assessing treatment response in special populations. Experts highlight pushback from insurance companies when trying to switch agents before 12 months, and they explain how they have navigated challenges.

Led by the moderator, the panelists examine the following critical questions:

Are you assessing treatment response at 6 months in all of your patients?
What patient profiles would push you to move to second-line therapy?

Throughout the conversation, the experts provide a comprehensive reflection on the field and the factors that may shape how clinicians approach care moving forward.

Our next episode, “The Efficacy of PPAR Agonists in PBC: Signals of Extrahepatic Improvements,” further explores PBC, highlighting the two second-line agents approved for PBC, elafibranor and seladelpar.