Successes in liver disease treatment

Versantis has announced positive results from a phase 1B study with its medicinal product VS-01. The study investigated its use for patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. VS-01 is a multiple organ support therapy that can rapidly direct toxins such as ammonia out of the body.

In total, nine patients have now been successfully treated with VS-01 within the phase 1B study. The objective was to test the safety and tolerability of the medicinal product. The results show that it was well tolerated by patients. Moreover, it was able to be administered using standard hospital equipment. Among other apparatus, the therapy involves the use of a catheter, which is employed as the exit point for toxins from the body.

Versantis says that VS-01 is a potentially lifesaving therapy. It has already received orphan drug status for use in acute liver failure from the American and European regulatory authorities, which enables the clinical development path to be expedited. The phase 1B study was the first trial to test VS-01 in humans. Following the successful results, a phase 2a study is scheduled to take place at the start of 2022. There are also plans to further develop the therapy. 

Versantis is a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH). The start-up was founded in 2015 and is based in Zurich.