HepaTx Therapy Could Provide Options to Millions with Liver Disease

Established in 1990, SP Investment Fund invests in, renovates and operates affordable housing in California, and invests in emerging technology that will have social impact. Active in health sciences, SP Investment Fund is an investor in HepaTx, an innovative company that wants to save the lives of thousands of people who need liver transplants every year. 

The liver performs 500 bodily functions. Some 100 diseases, however, can impact its health and function. There are more than 30 million Americans struggling with liver disease. Of those affected, 200,000 degenerate into end-stage liver failure annually, necessitating an organ transplant to survive. Sadly, only about 6,000 are matched with donors. 

To save the hundreds of thousands suffering from end-stage liver disease, new methods beyond transplant must be developed. HepaTx is developing a new treatment centered on infusing hepatocytes directly into the liver to replace dead or diseased cells. Adipose fat in stem cells is first isolated, programmed using chemicals into functional liver cells without gene editing, and then infused into the organ to replace dead hepatocytes and regenerate liver health and function.