FDA Rejects Hep D Drug; Cash for Colonoscopies; Mortality in MAFLD Without Obesity

The FDA rejected Gilead’s first-in-class entry inhibitor, bulevirtide, for treating adults with hepatitis delta virus, citing manufacturing and delivery concerns, the company said.

Meanwhile, the agency expanded the indication of tenofovir alafenamide (Vemlidy) to include treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection in pediatric patients with compensated liver disease, Gilead announced.

Ultra-processed foods were once again linked with an increased risk of Crohn’s disease, and also for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-related surgery, according to a U.K. population-based study. (Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis)

Having ileocecal Crohn’s disease surgery early — for uncomplicated luminal disease — was linked to lower rates of post-operative morbidity than when done later in the disease course for complicated phenotypes, a study from Latin America found. (Digestive and Liver Disease)

Some state employees in Colorado get cash for colonoscopies under an incentive program. (Kaiser Health News)

An early trial testing a T-cell therapy for selective immunosuppression in five liver transplant recipients showed no major safety concerns, but the cells lost some of their function after infusion, suggesting more work needs to be done. (Science Translational Medicine)

About half of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) patients don’t have obesity, and this group actually had higher 20-year all-cause mortality than obese patients in a nationally representative study, suggesting screening and diagnosis should also be considered for those without obesity. (Hepatology International)

U.K. women described their unique diets — sweets and bran flakes for a year in one case and surviving on sugar-free jelly in another — to control symptoms before being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. (BBC News)

SARS-CoV-2 infection was linked to having fewer bacterial species in the gut, which might lead to dangerous microbes thriving and subsequent secondary infections. (Nature Communications)