LIVMARLI is an FDA-approved medicine specifically designed to treat cholestatic pruritus in patients who are 3 months of age and older with Alagille syndrome. LIVMARLI helps relieve cholestatic pruritus and lower bile acid buildup.
Real patient Téa and her physician discuss how LIVMARLI takes action in the body.
Watch the full video of Téa and Dr Bass
Not all patients taking LIVMARLI and their caregivers will have the same experiences.
Téa: How does LIVMARLI work?
Dr Bass: What LIVMARLI does is it blocks the absorption of bile acids in the lower part of the intestine. When your liver—I almost like to think of this. Have you ever been to a water park?
Téa: Yes.
Dr Bass: Okay. The way I like to think about this. The bile is all going down this big water slide. What do you do at the end of a big water slide?
Téa: You go in the water.
Dr Bass: You go in the water. Then what do you do right after that? You get up and you want to go right back up the water slide, right?
Téa: Yes.
Dr Bass: That's really what's happening with all the bile. All the bile goes through, and then it goes right back up to the liver. If there's not enough tubes for that bile to flow, then that bile goes into the rest of the body. What LIVMARLI does is it blocks the ability of that bile to get out of the water and go back up to the slide. It allows it to leave the body. That's how it works.
Side effects can happen as your body is adjusting to LIVMARLI and working to get rid of excess bile. Talk with your doctor about what to expect and how to manage any side effects.
- Diarrhea (around 6 in 10 people)
- Stomach pain (around 5 in 10 people)
- Vomiting (around 4 in 10 people)
- Nausea (around 1 in 10 people)
- Fat-soluble vitamin (FSV) deficiency (around 3 in 10 people)
- Liver test abnormalities (around 2 in 10 people)
- Bone fractures (around 1 in 10 people)
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About gastrointestinal (GI) side effects GI events like diarrhea, stomach pain, or vomiting may occur as your body adjusts to LIVMARLI. In clinical studies, most GI side effects were mild to moderate and temporary, lasting less than 1 week. -
About fat-soluble vitamin (FSV) deficiencyThough LIVMARLI may affect absorption of FSVs, patients with Alagille syndrome can have FSV deficiency at the start of treatment and are often supplemented with FSVs.
Because Alagille syndrome can affect vitamin absorption, bone fractures and bleeding may occur.
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About liver test abnormalities High levels of certain liver enzymes called alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) can be a sign of liver injury. Your doctor should monitor liver tests during treatment with LIVMARLI.
*“Common” defined as occurring in ≥5% of patients treated with LIVMARLI.
Many side effects can improve with proper management
Your doctor is your treatment partner. If side effects occur, always talk with your doctor before stopping treatment
They may adjust your dose, pause treatment briefly, or suggest supportive steps (like diet changes, fluids, or over-the-counter medicines) to ease GI side effects
with LIVMARLI
Hear Tyler's story about starting LIVMARLI and working with his doctor to manage side effects.
Not all patients taking LIVMARLI and their caregivers will have the same experiences.
Teresa: One side effect that we've been battling is of GI cramping. That's just something that we knew it was a possibility of this happening. We had to work with our doctor to make sure that we could manage this for him, and let it be so that he could still attend school and do his daily activities. I think he's great now. We're going strong on 10 months. What do you think?
Tyler: I think we're doing good.
Terisa: You feel good on the medicine?
Tyler: Yes.
