Barcelona Liver Bioservices announces presentation at the EASL Liver Congress 2023

Barcelona Liver Bioservices (BLB), CRO especially focused on the field of Hepatology, announced today the presentation of an original communication at The EASL Congress held in Vienna and organized by the European Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (EASL).

Poster #WED-524 “GTX-011 improves fibrosis and hepatic stellate cells phenotype in human precision cut liver slices” will be presented from 13:00 – 14:30h by Prof Dr Jordi Gracia-Sancho, co-founder and CSO of BLB. The study assesses the effects of GTX-011, a first-in-class drug with anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic properties mediated by the inhibition of the TGFβ pathway, in Precision-Cut Liver Slices (PCLS) from human liver tissues. PCLS represent a unique 3D ex vivo model that preserves the structure and cellular composition of the liver, constituting an intermediate step between pre-clinical and clinical research.

The results of this study revealed that treatment of human liver slices with GTX-011 promoted hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) de-activation and inhibition of pro-fibrogenic pathways. Furthermore, gene deconvolution analysis was performed combining our transcriptomic data with previously published single-cell RNAseq data, in order to better understand the changes in the phenotype of each liver cell type in response to treatment. This advanced bioinformatic analysis confirmed the effects of GTX-011 on HSCs, promoting their de-activation compared to vehicle-treated tissues. 

For more information about the company and available research services, including liver-on-a-chip technology, human PCLS, preclinical models of liver diseases, and refined bioinformatic analysis, among others, please visit www.liver.barcelona

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Barcelona Liver Bioservices announces presentation at the AASLD Liver Meeting 2021.

Barcelona Liver Bioservices (BLB) announced today the presentation of an original communication at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of the Liver (AASLD), held as The Liver Meeting Digitial Experience.

Poster #1914 “GTX-011 improves portal hypertension, liver fibrosis and endothelial dysfunction in a rat model of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis” will be presented by Zoe Boyer, Senior Associate Scientist at BLB. The study, fruit of the collaboration between BLB and GAT Therapeutics, describes for the first time the effects of the novel non-steroidal modulator of 3C nuclear receptors GTX-011 in a pre-clinical model of NASH. Results of the study show that rats receiving GTX-011 exhibited significant improvement in portal hypertension, considered the most detrimental complication of advanced liver disease. Underlying mechanisms of this hemodynamic improvement included amelioration of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (showing improved vasodilator and anti-inflammatory mediators), together with amelioration in the metabolic profile (reduced FFA and insulin resistance). Importantly, GTX-011 administration led to partial de-activation of hepatic stellate cells. “We are glad to describe in detail the benefits of this compound in a pre-clinical model of NASH that particularly recapitulates the main pathophysiological features and transcriptome de-regulations of the human disease”, stated Dr Gracia-Sancho, co-founder and CSO of BLB.

Barcelona Liver Bioservices is a CRO focused on the design and development of pre-clinical research in the field of Hepatology. For more information about the company, our publications and available research services please visit www.liver.barcelona

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Latest BLB research published in the Journal of Hepatology

Barcelona Liver Bioservices (BLB), CRO specialized in liver diseases, announced today the publication of the manuscript entitled “The pan-PPAR agonist lanifibranor improves portal hypertension and hepatic fibrosis in experimental advanced chronic liver disease” in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Journal of Hepatology. The study describes the pre-clinical research developed in collaboration with Inventiva, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies for the treatment of NASH and other diseases with unmet medical need.

“The study demonstrates the beneficial effects of the pan-PPAR agonist lanifibranor improving the phenotype of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, hepatic stellate cells and hepatic macrophages, which ultimately lead to reduction in portal pressure and hepatic fibrosis. Data derives from two pre-clinical models of advanced chronic liver disease and human primary cells cultured in the ExoLiver® platform” summarize Zoe Boyer-Díaz and Peio Aristu-Zabalza, Associate Scientists at BLB and co-first authors of the manuscript. “Considering the lack of treatments for advanced chronic liver disease, and its most deleterious complication portal hypertension, the findings included in this manuscript shed light on the way to develop novel therapies for patients with chronic hepatopathies” added Dr Jordi Gracia-Sancho, CSO and co-founder of BLB.

“We are very pleased to see our latest preclinical results on lanifibranor for the treatment of cirrhosis published in the renowned Journal of Hepatology. This scientific paper, smartly developed by BLB, clearly illustrates that lanifibranor significantly improves key features of this severe disease. These beneficial effects are based on lanifibranor’s capacity to target all three PPAR isoforms concomitantly” stated Pierre Broqua, CSO and co-founder of Inventiva.

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Barcelona Liver Bioservices is a CRO focused on the design and development of pre-clinical research in the field of Liver Diseases. The company offers cutting-edge research services and consulting to foster the development of new therapeutics for liver diseases, including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and cirrhosis.

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Barcelona Liver Bioservices announces collaboration with Surrozen

Barcelona Liver Bioservices, CRO specialized in the design and development of pre-clinical studies in the field of liver diseases, announced today a non-exclusive collaboration with Surrozen, a biotech company developing tissue-specific antibodies that have the potential to regenerate tissue in situations of serious diseases.

Under the terms of the agreement, BLB will provide cutting-edge research services to enhance the characterization of regenerative pathways in chronic liver disease.

BLB aims at providing valuable insights into complex disease pathways and drug responses in a more meaningful liver disease pre-clinical context. For more information please visit www.liver.barcelona

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Barcelona Liver Bioservices announces collaboration with GAT Therapeutics

Barcelona Liver Bioservices, CRO specialized in the design and development of pre-clinical studies in the field of liver diseases, announced today a non-exclusive collaboration with GAT Therapeutics, an early stage biopharma targeting fibrosis and age-related diseases.

Under the terms of the agreement, BLB will deeply characterize the effects of GATTx’s lead compound GTX-011 on non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension. The research plan incorporates different BLB’s proprietary methods & technology, including the BarNa model®, unique pre-clinical model of NASH that mimics key pathophysiological and transcriptomic features of the human disease, and the exclusive ExoLiver® platform, BLB’s advanced model of human liver disease.

BLB aims at providing valuable insights into complex disease pathways and drug responses in a more meaningful liver disease pre-clinical context. For more information please visit www.liver.barcelona

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Barcelona Liver Bioservices announces presentations at the AASLD Liver Meeting 2019

Barcelona Liver Bioservices (BLB) announced today the presentation of two communications at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of the Liver (AASLD), held in Boston, Massachusetts.

Oral communication #0063 “The pan-PPAR agonist lanifibranor improves portal hypertension and hepatic fibrosis in experimental advanced chronic liver disease” will be presented by Dr Jordi Gracia-Sancho, CEO & CSO of BLB, on Sunday November 10th at 11:00h at the Hynes Auditorium. The study, fruit of the collaboration between BLB and Inventiva, describes for the first time the effects of the pan-PPAR agonist lanifibranor in a pre-clinical model of advanced cirrhosis. Results of the study show that rats receiving lanifibranor exhibited significant improvement in portal hypertension, which was associated with reduction in intrahepatic vascular resistance. Underlying mechanisms of this hemodynamic improvement included amelioration of hepatic stellate cells (which displayed normalization of several cell activation markers) and liver sinusoidal cells (showing improvement in capillarization markers and increment in fenestrae porosity). Importantly, lanifibranor administration led to partial regression of liver fibrosis. “We are glad to describe in detail the benefits of this compound in a pre-clinical model of advanced chronic liver disease, which supports further inhouse research using ExoLiver®: BLB’s proprietary drug-discovery platform that mimics the human sinusoid in vitro”, stated Dr Gracia-Sancho.

Poster #2116 “Hepatic fatty acid profile in chronic liver disease: mechanism of injury and novel therapeutic target” will be displayed on Monday 11th from 8:00 – 17:30h and presented by Zoe Boyer, Senior Associate Scientist at BLB. The study characterized the hepatic fatty acid de-regulation that may occur in advanced chronic liver disease, and investigated the possible therapeutic benefit of administering a nutraceutical rich in docosahexaenoic acid triglycerides (DHA) as a possible approach to re-establish a healthy lipid profile. The results of this project, which was performed in collaboration with BrudyLab, revealed that rats with cirrhosis exhibited a profoundly deregulated liver fatty acid profile, both structurally and enzymatically, indicating that chronic liver injury increases de novo lipogenesis in the liver and alters fatty acid metabolism, pathways that are recognized as important contributors to the development of metabolic disorders. Interestingly, when treated with BrudyLab-DHA, cirrhotic animals presented a remarkable improvement in their hepatic fatty acid composition, reaching values comparable to those of healthy animals.

Barcelona Liver Bioservices Team will be in Boston during the entire AASLD meeting. Please contact us to set up a private meeting to discuss how BLB can assist you to foster the development of new therapeutics for liver disease, including NASH and cirrhosis.

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A nutraceutical rich in DHA improves portal hypertension in cirrhosis

Barcelona Liver Bioservices announced today the publication of the manuscript entitled “A nutraceutical rich in docosahexaenoic acid improves portal hypertension in a preclinical model of advanced chronic liver disease” in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients.

Barcelona Liver Bioservices (BLB), CRO specialized in liver diseases, announced today the publication of the manuscript entitled “A nutraceutical rich in docosahexaenoic acid improves portal hypertension in a preclinical model of advanced chronic liver disease” in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients. The study describes the pre-clinical research developed in collaboration with BrudyLab, biotech company specialized in the development and commercialization of molecules derived from omega-3 fatty acid.

“The study demonstrates the beneficial effects of BrudyLab’s unique DHA formulation improving the hepatic fatty acid profile, portal pressure, inflammation and hepatic stellate cells phenotype in pre-clinical models of advanced chronic liver disease” summarizes Zoe Boyer, Associate Scientist at BLB and first author of the manuscript.

According to BLB & BrudyLab partnership, both entities will continue working together to further understand the underlying mechanisms of Brudy’s patent-protected compound while exploring possibilities to offer it to patients with chronic liver disease. “We very much look forward to continuing working with BrudyLab, due to its antioxidant properties their DHA formulation has high potential as nutraceutical supplement for liver diseases. Particularly, its benefits on fatty acid profile, inflammation and portal hypertension suggest high applicability for the treatment of NASH” stated Dr Jaime Bosch, vice-president of clinical research at BLB.

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For more information about the company, current partners and available research services please visit www.liver.barcelona

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Introducing the BarNa model®: BLB’s pre-clinical model of NASH

Barcelona Liver Bioservices (BLB), CRO specialized in liver diseases, announced today the publication of the manuscript entitled “New Rat Model of Advanced NASH Mimicking Pathophysiological Features and Transcriptomic Signature of The Human Disease” in the peer-reviewed journal Cells. The manuscript describes BLB’s proprietary model of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, termed BarNa Model®.

“It is recognized that NASH-derived cirrhosis is a burden of disease in our Society, with no therapeutic option available. Considering that no pre-clinical model properly mimics the human pathobiology of the disease, we at BLB invested significant efforts to develop a novel model of advanced NASH in rats that fulfil major clinical characteristics (including steatosis, inflammation, advanced fibrosis and portal hypertension) and shares a significant part of molecular pathways involved in the human disease” affirmed Dr Jordi Gracia-Sancho, CEO & CSO of BLB.

This new and unique model of advanced NASH can be used to test new drug entities designed to treat NAFLD and NASH, and to understand their underlying mechanisms of action, in a complex biological system with marked similarities with the human disease.

BarNa® animals are now available to current and future BLB’s partners, just get in touch with us to start a new research endeavor in the field of metabolic liver diseases.

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Barcelona Liver Bioservices is a CRO focused on the design and development of pre-clinical research in the field of Hepatology. The company offers cutting-edge research services and consulting to foster the development of new therapeutics for liver diseases, including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and cirrhosis.

For more information about the company, current partners and available research services please visit www.liver.barcelona

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Depicting the underlying mechanisms of emricasan in advanced chronic liver disease

The study characterizes the effects, and underlying mechanisms, of the pan-caspase inhibitor emricasan on portal hypertension, fibrosis and liver cells phenotype in pre-clinical models of advanced cirrhosis. It integrates a variety of BLB’s experimental approaches, including the unique ExoLiver® platform, animal models of cirrhosis, and cellular secretome analysis, among others.

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Barcelona Liver Bioservices is a CRO focused on the design and development of pre-clinical research in the field of Hepatology. The company offers cutting-edge research services and consulting to foster the development of new therapeutics for liver diseases, including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and cirrhosis.

For more information about the company, current partners and available research services please visit www.liver.barcelona

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Barcelona Liver Bioservices announces poster presentations at the ILC-EASL annual meeting

Barcelona Liver Bioservices (BLB) announced today the presentation of two posters at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), held in Vienna.

Poster #FRI 110 “A nutraceutical supplement rich in docosahexaenoic acid improves portal hypertension in a pre-clinical model of chronic liver disease” will be displayed today from 09:00 – 17:00h and presented by Zoe Boyer, Associate Scientist at BLB. The study, developed within the partnership of BLB with BrudyLab, investigates the effects of an antioxidant nutraceutical supplement rich in docosahexaenoic acid triglycerides (DHA-TG) in pre-clinical models of chronic liver disease and portal hypertension. Results of the study demonstrate that 2-week DHA-TG promoted a significant amelioration in portal hypertension, without changes in portal blood flow, thus suggesting improvement in intrahepatic vascular resistance. The mechanisms underlying this hemodynamic improvement included significant reductions in hepatic oxidative stress, de-activation of hepatic stellate cells, and reduction in liver fibrosis. “It is remarkable that the effects of this natural compound were similar to other small molecules specifically designed to treat human liver diseases, thus representing an ideal compound to be combined with other drug entities” affirmed Prof Jaime Bosch, co-founder and scientific advisor of BLB.

Poster #FRI 324 “Introducing a new pre-clinical model of advanced NASH that mimics the main pathophysiological characteristics and transcriptomic signature of the human disease” will be displayed today from 09:00 – 17:00h and presented as selected oral Poster tomorrow at 13:00h. The work introduces the unique BLB’s pre-clinical model of NASH, termed Barcelona Nash – BarNa Model®. The experimental model, which is based on a multi-hit protocol that combines pro-inflammatory and pro-steatosis injuries, mimics the major clinical descriptors of the human disease: steatosis & metabolic syndrome, lipotoxicity, hepatic inflammation, hepatic stellate cells activation and stablished fibrosis, and portal hypertension. Analysis of the liver transcriptome using NGS demonstrated that the BarNa model shares de-regulations in a significant part of the pathways involved in the human disease pathophysiology, including insulin resistance, lipid metabolism, cell death, inflammation, fibrosis, endothelial dysfunction and mitochondrial dysfunction. The BarNa model®, which is now available for new partnerships, is developed in rats allowing proper analysis of hemodynamic parameters and isolation of high number of primary cells.

Barcelona Liver Bioservices is a CRO focused on the design and development of pre-clinical research in the field of Hepatology. The company offers cutting-edge research services and consulting to foster the development of new therapeutics for liver diseases, including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and cirrhosis.

For more information about the company, current partners and available research services please visit www.liver.barcelona

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