By CAROLINE CHEN and JARED S. HOPKINS BLOOMBERG NEWS
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis occurs when fat accumulates in the liver along with inflammation and damage, and as much as a quarter of the U.S. population may have a precursor condition called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The ailment develops slowly, and patients often don't show symptoms until their livers are heavily damaged. It's most common in people who are overweight or have diabetes, and doctors mainly prescribe diet changes and weight loss.
While doctors need to perform a biopsy to diagnose nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, between 6 and 15 million people in the U.S. alone are estimated to have the condition, and about 20 percent of them will go on to develop life-threatening cirrhosis. It will be the leading cause of liver transplants by 2020, according to Allergan. Drugs that treat it will likely command high prices, said Elizabeth Krutoholow, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
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