Can you live without a liver?
Over a third (35%) of
Americans mistakenly think they can, according to a recent Harris Poll, conducted on behalf of liver-disease-focused Madrigal Pharmaceuticals. And less than half of respondents reported ever having
been tested for their liver health.
Yet, fatty liver disease “has surged in parallel with rising rates of obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic conditions,” reports the Global
Liver Institute.
To help the situation, Madrigal is unveiling a giant liver to help raise public awareness of fatty liver disease in general, and MASH in particular.
No, not
“M*A*S*H,” the old movie or TV series, which, while touching on hepatitis in a couple of episodes, never dealt with MASH — metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, which
until 2023 was actually known as NASH (or nonalcoholicsSteatohepatitis).
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Approximately 6% of U.S. adults (14.9 million people) have MASH “and its prevalence is expanding,”
according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. MASH is a progressive disease that can lead to cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation, liver cancer, liver transplantation, or death, the FDA adds.
Madrigal, which launched the first FDA-approved MASH treatment called Rezdiffra two years ago, unleashes its 20-foot-tall, 41-foot-wide inflatable vital organ in Philadelphia on June 11..
It will then go on tour, touching down in other cities like Orlando, Washington, D.C., San Diego and Pittsburgh during the rest of 2026.
“MASH Across America,” an unbranded
initiative that doesn’t mention Rezdiffra by name, allows people to walk inside the installation to “experience the different stages of liver disease — from a healthy liver to fibrosis
and cirrhosis,” says Madrigal.
Philadelphia was chosen for the launch, since Madrigal is based in the area, with the other locations chosen because they’re places where
“community, medical and policy stakeholders are already coming together,” a spokesperson tells Marketing Daily.
The tour’s opening has been promoted via “a
combination of community outreach, digital communications, social media (TikTok and Facebook), local engagement efforts and collaboration with advocacy organizations,” the spokesperson says.
The debut will include appearances by Jamie Watson, a former Major League Soccer player and current Apple TV soccer analyst, whose mother is awaiting a liver transplant. (Philadelphia hosts its
first World Cup game this Sunday, June 14); Wayne Eskridge, founder of the Fatty Liver Foundation; and Dr. Rebecca, a hepatologist with Jefferson Health.
“We are evaluating opportunities
to engage local healthcare and community stakeholders in other markets,” the spokesperson says.
Agencies that have worked with Madrigal on MASH Across America include
Real Chemistry, Medical Inflatables, Voronyx and ITA Group.
Other Madrigal awareness campaigns have included “Be Your Liver’s Number One Fan”
Branded campaigns for Rezdiffra have included “Way Forward” and
“Making a Difference.”
Madrigal’s “MASH Across America” follows the FDA’s approval of a second MASH treatment last summer: Novo Nordisk’s
Wegovy, best known as an obesity-fighting GLP-1.
