In the future, we could grow a new liver inside our bodies without having to deal with the long waiting lists and risks associated with traditional organ transplants. That's the goal of a pioneering cell therapy developed by LyGenesis, which just reached a significant milestone with the dosing of the first patient in a Phase 2a clinical trial (This).
Hope for patients with end-stage liver disease
La end-stage liver disease (ESLD) it is a potentially fatal condition that progresses over years, sometimes decades. Patients with ESLD present a constellation of symptoms and complications that compromise their survival and quality of life. Often, ESLD is the result of cirrhosis, a condition in which scar tissue replaces the healthy liver, leading to irreversible changes in the anatomy and function of liver tissue until various stages of liver failure are reached.
Until now, the only treatment option for these patients was liver transplantation. However, up to 50% of patients with ESLD who could benefit from a standard liver transplant are medically unsuitable, while approximately 12% of patients on the waiting list die each year. This is why LyGenesis cell therapy could be fundamental.
Lymph nodes as living bioreactors
That of LyGenesis, named LYG-LIV-001, is an allogeneic cell therapy regulated by the FDA as an investigational biologic. In short, it uses the patient's lymph nodes to grow a new functioning liver within his own body. Lymph nodes therefore act as bioreactors in vivo, helping hepatocytes to engraft, proliferate and generate functional ectopic liver tissue.
If testing continues successfully, this cell therapy could allow a single donated liver to treat dozens of ESLD patients, helping to rebalance the current imbalance between organ supply and demand in patients' favor.
This therapy could represent a remarkable milestone in regenerative medicine, helping ESLD patients grow new functional ectopic livers in their bodies.
Dr. Michael Hufford, co-founder and CEO of LyGenesis
More than a cell therapy, a medical platform. With enormous potential
The liver is not the only target of the cell therapy developed by LyGenesis. The startup is in fact developing therapies to produce an ectopic thymus (for aging and many other potential indications), a pancreas (for type 1 diabetes) and a kidney (for kidney disease).
Regeneration air, in short. And all starting from this phase 2a clinical study, a true milestone for transplant medicine. We may be on the verge of a new era in which organ shortages are a thing of the past and in which patients with end-stage organ disease will have a second chance at life.
And this is a future worth fighting for.
