Hepa Wash reels in €3.8m in series A
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Liver assist device company Hepa Wash (Munich, Germany) plans to initiate clinical studies of its first-generation system after raising €3.8m ($5.6m) in its first venture financing round. The series A financing came from German investment bank KfW Bankengruppe and unnamed private investors. The Hepa Wash procedure uses a proprietary liver dialysis system, comparable to a kidney dialysis machine, which removes protein-bound toxins from the patient's blood in order to stimulate liver function. The procedure has already been evaluated in two preclinical trials. Clinical studies are expected to start in the first half of 2010. According to estimates from the World Health Organization, over 12 million people suffer from liver disease worldwide. The limited number of liver donors means that there is an urgent need for an alternative to liver transplantation to help treat patients with liver failure, according to Hepa Wash.