In several liver diseases, the underlying cause cannot always be eliminated, i.e. the progression of liver disease cannot be prevented. This is particularly true for non-responders to the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (HCV). It is relevant for more than 40 per cent of patients with HCV genotype 1 and up to 20 per cent of patients with genotype 2 or 3. Several approaches are now underway to prevent or ameliorate mechanisms of disease progression. In Asia, and particularly in Japan, Glycyrrhizine-SNMC has been widely used for this purpose. At present, SNMC is under clinical evaluation in Europe.