Novel preclinical developments of the primary sclerosing cholangitis treatment landscape.

Introduction: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease associated with inflammation, fibrosis, and destruction of intra- and extrahepatic bile ducts. Despite substantial recent advances in our understanding of PSC, the only proven treatment of PSC is liver transplantation. There is an urgent unmet need to find medical therapies for this disorder.

Areas covered: Multiple drugs are currently under evaluation as therapeutic options for this disease. This article summarizes the literature on the various novel therapeutic options that have been investigated and are currently under development for the treatment of PSC.

Expert opinion: In the next decade, more than one drug will likely be approved for the treatment of the disease, and we will be looking at combination therapies for the optimal management of the disease.