Phase 3 Trials of Elafibranor and Seladelpar for Primary Biliary Cholangitis

To the Editor: Pruritus is a frequent symptom in patients with primary biliary cholangitis and has been related to a high plasma concentration of substances that are excreted in bile. When hepatocellular failure occurs, pruritus tends to abate, which suggests that the cholestatic liver is responsible for producing pruritogenic substances. 1 Two recent placebo-controlled trials evaluated two different drugs for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis: a trial of seladelpar by Hirschfield et al. 2 and a trial of elafibranor by Kowdley et al. 3 (Feb. 29 issue). The biochemical response was greater with either drug than with placebo. However, seladelpar resulted in . . .