Vital Therapies closes $28.1M financing

Vital Therapies, based in San Diego, USA, has completed a $28.1 million series C financing. The new capital will support continued development of ELAD, which the firm says is the world's only human cell-based artificial liver. The financing was led by Versant Ventures which was joined by new investors Delphi Ventures, HBM BioMed China and DFJ DragonFund China, as well as others.

Terry Winters, chief executive of Viral Therapies, said: "these experienced medical investors recognize that liver disease is a large, growing problem with limited solutions. I look forward to working with them as we prepare our filing for marketing approval in China, advance our US clinical program and refine our global strategy."

Pivotal human trials at two leading hospitals in Beijing, China, have confirmed ELAD is a promising therapy for serious, acute liver failure. To date, only liver transplantation has been shown to increase survival. However, demand for liver transplantation far exceeds the supply of donor organs, creating a need for an alternative life-saving therapy such as ELAD, the firm says. In China alone, an estimated 160 million people suffer from chronic liver infections such as hepatitis B and C.