Overview
- A Phase I/II trial (MATCH) reported in Cell Stem Cell found 70% transplant‑free survival at four years for 26 patients treated with autologous macrophages versus 40% for 24 control patients.
- The treatment extracts a patient’s blood monocytes, matures them into macrophages in the lab, and injects them into the liver where they degrade scar tissue, lower inflammation, and promote regeneration.
- No serious adverse events were linked to the therapy in the follow‑up and treated patients had eight deaths with no transplants compared with nine deaths and five transplants in controls.
- Resolution Therapeutics, the spinout advancing the work, is running a modified‑product trial (EMERALD testing RTX001) and an observational study (OPAL) to refine product design, endpoints and patient selection before larger trials.
- The results are promising but preliminary because MATCH was small and single‑programme; clinicians and patient groups say larger, randomized multi‑centre trials are needed to confirm benefit and assess how the therapy could change care for people with late‑stage cirrhosis and limited transplant access.