Pruritus in Primary Biliary Cholangitis is Under-Treated in Clinical Practice: Results from TARGET-PBC (APASL)

Despite the high prevalence and burden of pruritus in PBC, it was suspected that itch was systematically undertreated in clinical practice, but real-world data confirming the treatment gap—including what proportion of patients with clinically significant itch never received any treatment—were absent.

The TARGET-PBC cohort was used to characterize itch treatment receipt rates by itch severity, identifying that a substantial proportion of patients with clinically significant pruritus had never received any anti-pruritic treatment and characterizing the medications used in those who were treated.

Quantifying the treatment gap in PBC pruritus—with one-third of clinically significant itch patients never treated—directly supports the regulatory and commercial case for approved anti-pruritic therapies, providing real-world evidence that existing treatments are insufficient to meet patient need.

PBC pruritus treatment gap quantification for anti-pruritic drug development regulatory strategy, Real-world undertreatment evidence supporting label claims for novel PBC itch therapies, Pruritus management pattern characterization in rare liver disease for payer and guideline context