News

Today we celebrate the international NASH day in order to together raise awareness in the fight against the NASH epidemic!

Read the blog post on how we should shed light on the disease and raise global awareness.

Today is International NASH Day! VLVbio is proud to join the Global Liver Institute (GLI) in raising awareness of this important health issue.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, has been called an epidemic, a ticking time bomb, and a silent tsunami. It is the progressive form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and affects more than 115 million people worldwide. An estimated 357 million people will be affected by 2030.

Because NASH symptoms are not overt, NASH is often underdiagnosed and underreported. NAFLD and NASH are major risk factors for other health conditions: more than 70% of patients are obese, up to 75% have type 2 diabetes, and anywhere from 20-80% have hyperlipidemia. Unchecked, NASH may lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver transplant.

Despite its prevalence and serious health consequences, NASH is relatively unknown. In a recent survey, only 6% of at-risk individuals had ever heard of NASH.

In order to raise awareness, the first International NASH Day was launched on June 12th last year. Now the second annual International NASH day is set to build off last year’s success and further spread the word about NASH and its effects.

“Our goal is to shine light on this silent epidemic.” said Donna Cryer, GLI’s President and Founder.

The golden standard for diagnosing NASH today is through biopsy which is an invasive procedure which comes with many patient burdens and high costs. One of the pressing needs in the field is to implement non-invasive and low-cost techniques for diagnosing and staging the disease. One of the discussed serum markers is Keratin 18 (K18), which is leaked out of liver cells after cell death. Cell death is understood to be one of the contributing factors for disease progression in NASH. By measuring caspase-cleaved K18 (ccK18) and total K18 through the M30® and M65® antibody assays, you can quantify the amount of apoptosis and total cell death in the liver which helps in NASH diagnosis.

“We at VLVbio want to spread information on the disease as well as increase the acceptance and adoption of non-invasive diagnostic techniques.” says Slavica Brnjic, CEO of VLVbio.

For more information, visit globalliver.org/IND

/ Reda El Khatib, MMSc, Marketing Specialist, VLVbio

EASL – NAFLD SUMMIT 2019

VLVbio will exhibit at the EASL NAFLD summit 2019 in Seville, Spain!

It is time for the annual EASL NAFLD summit! Att the summit, attendees will learn and discuss new developments and challenges in NAFLD, including how the development of new therapies, along with validated non-invasive biomarkers is urgently needed in this arena.

VLVbio will be exhibiting and the event will take place between 26th to 28th September. Meet us there, let’s grab some coffe, and we can discuss biomarkers!

Nos vemos en Sevilla!

We will be exhibiting at EASL’s ILC 10th-14th April in Vienna. Come meet our colleagues Reda Elkhatib, Paola Pellegrini and Jessica Tuohy at our booth at the Biotech Village. Herzlich willkommen!

The International Liver Congress will take place in Vienna this year, and VLVbio will be exhibiting. Come meet us there!

The Internation Liver Congress (ILC) is the flagship event of the year for all of us with a huge interest in hepatology. Every year in April, scientific and medical experts from a broad range of fields, including among others hepatology, infectuous diseases and transplantation, come together from around the world to learn about the latest within the liver field.

Researchers share their recent data, present studies and findings, and discuss the hottest topics on liver disease. The congress attracts around 10 000 people from all over the world!

We will be attending the ILC in Vienna 10th-14th April 2019, where we will exhibit at the Biotech Village. Come join us there!

The Use of Cytokeratin 18 Assays as a Prescreening Tool

Read the blog post on how to use the Keratin 18 assays in NASH clinical trials!

Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing global epidemic and the most common cause of liver disease in all Western countries. NAFLD refers to a spectrum of conditions and it is defined as the excessive accumulation of fat in the liver not caused by heavy alcohol consumption.

Patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a more advanced form of NAFLD, are at an increased risk for liver-related mortality and cardiovascular disease. There are currently no approved drug therapies for NAFLD or NASH and many clinical trials are underway to address this unmet need for pharmacologic treatment options.

Read about the challenges faced by pharmaceutical companies involved in NASH clinical trials and how the K18 assays can result in both time and cost savings, and show efficacy of NASH drug treatment.

Read the post here!

M30 Apoptosense in NASH Clinical Trials

We are proud to announce that the M30 Apoptosense® ELISA, for use in NASH clinical trials, will be discussed on an Xtalks webinar!

NAFLD is a medical condition characterized by the build-up of fat in the liver and has a spectrum that ranges from steatosis and NASH to fibrotic NASH and cirrhosis. The incidence of NAFLD worldwide is 20-35%, and there are currently no approved drug therapies for NAFLD or NASH.

As biopsy is still the “gold standard” for diagnosis of NASH, non-invasive biomarkers are urgently needed to identify patients and determine their response to novel therapeutic agents.

Markers of hepatic cell death such as keratin 18 (K18) and its caspase-cleaved fragment, ccK18, have been suggested as endpoints for early clinical drug trials. The M30 Apoptosense® ELISA is a specific and reliable tool to measure the concentration of ccK18 fragments. Celerion has validated the M30 Apoptosense® ELISA for use as a secondary endpoint in NASH clinical trials.

Webinar Information

• Monday, October 22, 2018
• 11am EDT (NA)
• 4pm BST (UK)
• 5pm CEST (EU-Central)
• Duration: 60 min

This webinar is sponsored by Diapharma Group, Inc

Click here to register and listen to the free webinar!

EASL – NAFLD SUMMIT 2018

VLVbio will exhibit at the EASL event NAFLD SUMMIT 2018 in Geneve, Switzerland the 20th to 22nd of September.
Meet us there and let us discuss biomarkers!