Yaqrit receives £2m investment to develop new treatments for liver disease

Yaqrit Limited (“Yaqrit”), a UK company specialising in interventions in liver disease, is pleased to announce that it has secured funding of more than £2 million (including conversion of an existing loan) to develop further its novel biomarkers and treatments for liver disease, using intellectual property developed by the Liver Failure Group, Institute for Liver and Digestive Health (ILDH), University College London (UCL) and licensed from UCL Business PLC, the wholly-owned technology transfer company of UCL, one of the world’s leading research­led universities.

The investment by Udane Limited, Pashupati Securities (part of the N Sethia group of companies) and UCL Business PLC (UCLB) will be used by Yaqrit to develop its pipeline of products targeting a variety of liver conditions including liver failure, non-alcoholic fatty liver and alcoholic liver disease. The company has acquired three biomarkers to diagnose, prognosticate and define treatment of liver failure; a liver dialysis machine to treat patients with advanced liver disease and liver failure, and a novel, orally administered carbon of controlled porosity that targets the microbiome and bacterial translocation to treat complications of cirrhosis, alcoholic and fatty liver disease. Yaqrit aims to validate these biomarkers in patient samples and determine the efficacy of these therapies in liver disease patients.

Professor Rajiv Jalan, Head of the Liver Failure Group at ILDH said, “It is amazing to see that these biomarkers and novel treatments that were discovered in the laboratories at UCL have the opportunity to try to make a real difference to the lives of patients with liver disease.”

“Liver disease is the only widespread cause of death where mortality rates are increasing,” said Daniel Green, CEO Yaqrit. “This investment is a second vote of confidence in our technologies this year, after a €6m grant from European Union Horizon 2020 programme.”

Cengiz Tarhan, Managing Director of UCLB, said: “UCLB are delighted that Yaqrit has secured this investment with the assistance from Dr. Bill Lindsay our Senior Business Manager who worked on the transaction.  We look forward to continuing to work with the management team, to ensure Yaqrit establishes itself as a leading healthcare company to offer solutions for managing and treating liver disease”.

About Yaqrit
Yaqrit Limited is a UK company specialising in interventions in liver disease based on 20 years of research and development by the Liver Failure Group, ILDH, UCL.

www.yaqrit.com

About UCLB
UCL Business PLC (UCLB) is a leading technology transfer company that supports and commercialises research and innovations arising from UCL, one of the UK’s top research-led universities. UCLB has a successful track record and a strong reputation for identifying and protecting promising new technologies and innovations from UCL academics. UCLB has a strong track record in commercialising medical technologies and provides technology transfer services to UCL’s associated hospitals; University College London Hospitals, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Royal Free London Hospital. It invests directly in development projects to maximise the potential of the research and manages the commercialisation process of technologies from laboratory to market.

For further information, please visit www.uclb.com or follow us on Twitter @UCL_Business

Further information:
Yaqrit
Daniel Green, CEO
daniel.green@yaqrit.com

UCLB
Emma Alam
e.alam@uclb.com
+44 (0)20 7679 9798