Each year more than 30,000 Americans die from liver failure, many while waiting to be one of the 3,800 or so fortunate enough to receive a liver transplant. Because of the absence of therapeutic alternatives, the potential to save so many lives, and ongoing scientific advances, the FDA has loosened the reins on transgenic liver experimentation—hoping to speed the development of transplantable and external transgenic solutions. Competition has heated up, with most of the action devoted to genetically engineering pig livers resistant to rejection. One alliance typical of those defining the playing field is Nextran, a Princeton, NJ-based JV between Baxter Health Care and DNX, with ongoing xenotransplant experiments in humans at Duke University.
Excorp Medical Inc. has developed a "bioartificial" liver-assist device which makes use of porcine hepatocytes, but keeps these pig liver...
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