Call us: 1.405.235.2305
info@i2E.org
  • Events
  • News
  • Resources
  • Library
  • Love’s Cup
i2Ei2Ei2Ei2E
  • About
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Venture Advisory Services
    • Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup
  • e3
  • Concept Fund
  • iMCI
  • Portfolio
  • Contact

Oklahoma-based Kirrhos Pharmaceuticals tackles fatty liver disease known as NASH

    Home News Oklahoma-based Kirrhos Pharmaceuticals tackles fatty liver disease known as NASH
    NextPrevious

    Oklahoma-based Kirrhos Pharmaceuticals tackles fatty liver disease known as NASH

    By sarah | News | 0 comment | 20 September, 2019 | 0

    By Scott Meacham
    Copyright © 2019, The Oklahoman

    When a looming medical problem exists, people usually hear about it — so much so that even lay people become familiar with the scientific names — angina, arrhythmia, blastoma, lymphoma, hepatitis and the like.

    Cirrhosis, the condition of scarring and permanent damage to the liver, often from alcohol, is another liver condition often in the public eye. Less commonly known beyond the medical profession, however, are the underlying causes of cirrhosis that are not related to hepatitis or alcohol.

    Two of those conditions are nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)—conditions, which are related to too much fat being stored in the liver occurring in people who do not drink.

    In the U.S., NAFLD affects an estimated 80 million people. NASH, an especially aggressive form of NAFLD which results in inflammation, liver damage, liver scarring, cirrhosis, and liver cancer caused by fat building up in the liver, is projected to be the leading cause of liver transplant by 2020.

    There are no silver bullets in tackling the problem of liver disease. It is very complicated and often involves a multi-pronged approach, tackling diabetes, cardiovascular issues, and more simultaneously. There are drug therapies for these, but there is no drug therapy for fatty liver disease.

    Kirrhos Pharmaceuticals, an Oklahoma-based biotechnology firm is developing an oral drug to treat and reverse the effects of fatty liver disease. With a streamlined development plan, the company expects to put the drug in clinical trials in less than 15 months.

    “The beginning stages of fatty liver disease are reversible,” said Dr. Elaine Hamm, Kirrhos Pharmaceuticals Founder and COO. “If you catch it early, you can stop it. But one of the most frightening aspects of NAFLD is that it is silent. A person can have NAFLD without knowing it, until it progresses to an advanced stage. By then, irreversible liver damage is done.”

    Creating awareness, is top of mind for Dr. Hamm and Kirrhos Pharmaceuticals.

    “Fatty liver disease is a big medical problem and is emerging as one of the most common chronic liver diseases.” she said. “Unfortunately, though millions of Americans are at risk for developing this disease, they may not even know it. Patients need to know about NAFLD and NASH and have meaningful conversations with their physicians early about the dangers of this disease, their own risk factors, and about the impact of diet and exercise on preventing liver damage.’

    Beyond creating therapies that reverse disease, it is critically important that early stage biotech startups are “canaries in the coal mine.”

    As these young companies dig into unsolved problems to improve and save lives, they also play a unique and vital role in education and awareness—especially when it comes to conditions like fatty liver disease which can affect so many in such life-threatening ways. (For more information, visit the Ascend BioVentures website)

    Scott Meacham is president and CEO of i2E Inc., a nonprofit corporation that mentors many of the state’s technology-based startup companies. i2E receives state appropriations from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology. Contact Meacham at i2E_Comments@i2E.org

    Dr. Elaine Hamm, Elaine Hamm, Kirrhos Pharmaceuticals, liver disease, NASH, Scott Meacham

    Related Posts

    • Ascend BioVentures helps determine right path for health care discoveries

      By sarah | 0 comment

      By Scott Meacham Copyright © 2019, The Oklahoman It’s really difficult to invent new drug therapies. Research and development can take decades. Once a potential drug appears viable, testing for safety and efficacy adds moreRead more

    • State embraces collaborative culture with Oklahoma Innovation Model

      By sarah | Comments are Closed

      By Scott Meacham We are in difficult times — and when times are difficult, individuals, business, and even entire states have to do things differently. Think back to what was happening in Oklahoma in theRead more

    • Tracking would-be entrepreneur ‘leavers’ who abandon their dream

      By sarah | Comments are Closed

        By Scott Meacham Everything in life is cyclical. As terrible as 2020 has been for so many, the human spirit is amazing. Over the last month, as people have begun receiving vaccines that wereRead more

    • Putting the disruption of 2020 to work

      By sarah | Comments are Closed

      By Scott Meacham Happy New Year! I don’t know if I have ever been so happy to end one year and begin the next. Times remain challenging, but in just the last few weeks, weRead more

    • 2020: Something good emerging out of the bad

      By sarah | Comments are Closed

      By Scott Meacham When I was a boy, I learned from my grandparents that when something bad t happened, that something good would come out of it. I have been thinking about that lesson overRead more

    Leave a Comment

    Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    NextPrevious
    i2E-300dpi-Trans-Light
    • Events
    • News
    • Resources
    • Library
    • Love’s Cup

    Oklahoma City Office

    840 Research Parkway, Suite 250
    OKC, OK 73104
    PHONE 405/235-2305
    Click HERE for printable map with directions.

    Tulsa Office

    618 E. Third Street, Suite 1
    Tulsa, OK 74120
    PHONE 918/582-5592
    Click HERE for printable map with directions.
    Copyright 2021 i2E, Inc. | All Rights Reserved
    • About i2E
    • Services
    • Investments
    • Development
      • Love’s Cup
        • Forms
        • High Growth
        • Small Business
        • Timeline
    • Portfolio 3
    • Contact
    i2E