Obeticholic acid as second-line therapy for primary biliary cholangitis: Does target trial emulation solve the issue?

1Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (Philadelphia, PA, USA) 2Division of Epidemiology, Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Informatics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (Philadelphia, PA, USA) 3Division of Biostatistics, Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Informatics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (Philadelphia, PA, USA) Abbreviations: ALP, alkaline phosphatase; FDA, Food and Drug Administration; HR, hazard ratio; ICD, International Classifications of Diseases ITT, intention-to-treat; LT, liver transplantation; OCA, obeticholic acid; PBC, primary biliary cholangitis; UDCA, ursodeoxycholic acid Correspondence Therese Bittermann, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street – 2 Dulles, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Email: [email protected]