Explore our ongoing LIBERATE Study for people who have received a liver transplant
Explore our ongoing LIBERATE Study for people who have received a liver transplant
LIBERATE is a Phase I/II clinical study for adults who have had a liver transplant in the last 1-5 years and are taking immunosuppressant drugs
Explore our ongoing LIBERATE Study for people who have received a liver transplant
LIBERATE is a Phase I/II clinical study for adults who have had a liver transplant in the last 1-5 years and are taking immunosuppressant drugs
Introducing our science and our study
A liver transplant can be life changing - it offers the prospect of a more normal way of living. However, people who receive a liver transplant need to take a combination of immunosuppressant drugs to prevent the body from rejecting the organ – usually for the rest of their lives. Immunosuppressant drugs are effective, but they work by ‘damping down’ the entire immune system. This reduces the body’s natural defences, which increases the risk of infections or other serious conditions, including some types of cancer.
This page has been developed to help explain the science behind a potential new treatment that aims to remove the need for lifelong immunosuppressants for people who have received a liver transplant. It also introduces the clinical study that investigates how the treatment works in people with a liver transplant. If you or a loved one are interested in taking part in the study, please speak to your doctor.
Introducing Our Science & Study
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Solid Organ Transplantation is miraculous but is far from being a full cure for patients. To prevent their new graft (organ) from being rejected by their own immune system, transplant recipients need to take potent, systemic immunosuppression every day for the remainder of their lives. Unfortunately, when you shut down the immune system to prevent the organ from rejecting, you also prevent effective immune-surveillance (the role your immune system has in spotting threats). This means that your immune system can fail to spot malignant cells, increasing the likelihood of cancer, as well as missing pathogens, which can lead to severe, even life-threatening infections. Finally, immunosuppressant drugs are also toxic – they can damage your kidneys, cause diabetes and cause cardiovascular disease.
In the LIBERATE trial, Quell aims to use therapeutic Tregs to facilitate removal of all immunosuppression. Achieving this would make Transplantation the FULL CURE it was always intended to be.
T-Reg Therapy
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Treg cell therapy begins with collection of the patient's own white blood cells and isolation of the regulatory t cells or Treg cells.
Genetic material contained in viral particles is used to re-engineer Treg cells to produce FOX P3, which locks the cell in its anti-inflammatory state and chimeric antigen receptors or CARs, which guide the cells where to home and activate in the body. The engineered Treg cells are then multiplied and reintroduced to the original patient.
In chronic immune diseases, unlike conventional medicines, which only temporarily reduce inflammation, engineered Tregs may restore immune tolerance, potentially eliminating the need for chronic anti-inflammatory drug use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to your questions here