Baylor College of Medicine today announced that a new research agreement with United Therapeutics Corporation, a public benefit corporation, will provide up to $5 million a year for five years to establish the Baylor College of Medicine Center for Xenoliver Transplantation and Immunomodulation (XTI), dedicated to advancing scientific understanding of xenoliver transplantation.

XTI's research efforts will place a particular emphasis on patient populations with high unmet needs who may face additional barriers to receiving a timely liver transplant, including patients with end-stage organ failure and patients whose immune systems have formed antibodies to foreign tissue. XTI will also explore immunomodulatory interventions, including mechanisms that may drive dendritic cells, which play an important role in adaptive immune response, to improve human tolerance to a xenoliver transplantation.

Baylor faculty members John Goss, M.D., chief of abdominal transplant in the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, and William K. Decker, Ph.D., professor of pathology and immunology and a member of the National Cancer Institute-designated Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, will serve as co-directors of the center.

Baylor College of Medicine's transplant program specializes in heart, lung, abdominal, liver and kidney transplants and is at the forefront of transplant research, giving patients access to the latest techniques and treatment for a successful organ transplant. 

United Therapeutics' pioneering organ manufacturing program includes investigational products in development across multiple platforms to address the ongoing shortage of transplantable organs. Their xenotransplantation clinical program includes three investigational xeno organs, UKidney™, UThymokidney™, and UHeart™, procured from pigs with genetic edits intended to facilitate immunological acceptance and compatibility of the organ in the human recipient and to reduce the risk of organ rejection.

The organ shortage crisis is significant. Thousands of people die every year while waiting for a transplant. Liver candidates represent the second-largest group of individuals waiting for an organ transplant, with approximately 10,000 people currently on the national liver transplant waiting list in the U.S.

We are thrilled to work with Baylor College of Medicine and their renowned transplant team. United Therapeutics' ultimate goal is to provide organs for the people who need them instead of people waiting for organs. The creation of the Center for Xenoliver Transplantation and Immunomodulation is intended to support the advancement of our xenotransplantation program and provide new insights into xenoliver transplantation."

Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D., Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of United Therapeutics

"Xenotransplantation is an exciting field of scientific and clinical research that shows great promise for increasing the availability of transplantable organs. Advancements in editing the porcine genome bolster the potential of xenotransplantation by improving the probability of human immune acceptance of a porcine organ," said Jakub Tolar, M.D., Ph.D., president, CEO and executive dean of Baylor. "This is a fitting area for Baylor to show leadership and United Therapeutics is known for excellent, innovative work."

"Despite advances, the full potential of organ transplantation has not been realized and patients continue to lose their lives while waiting for a transplant due to the shortage of suitable organs," said Goss. "The collaboration between Baylor and United Therapeutics will increase our understanding of the xenogeneic immune response, how we may be able to improve this response and potentially allow our patients in need of a transplant to receive an organ without a lengthy wait time."

"Having participated in organ transplantation for the last 30 years, I have had the opportunity to see and experience many advances in transplant medicine. While these advances have been remarkable, the field of transplant medicine still faces an inadequate source of organs, an increase in the number of people with organ failure and logistical challenges contributing to the organ shortage crisis," said Goss. "This collaboration will allow our scientists to attempt to dissect the human allogeneic and xenogeneic immune responses and may ultimately allow the use of xenogeneic organs so that patients with end-stage organ failure will be offered transplantation and avoid the wait list or death."

Decker said the collaboration brings together the significant experience and knowledge from multiple fields of research.

"This exciting new relationship with United Therapeutics is an extraordinary opportunity to bring together Baylor's profound expertise in surgery and immunology to attack the problem directly," he said. "The goal here is not to make incremental improvements in xenogeneic tolerance but to genuinely expand access to lifesaving organ replacement. United Therapeutics has shown remarkable vision and commitment in pursuing that goal."

Dr. Todd Rosengart, M.D., interim executive vice president of clinical affairs and chair of the DeBakey Department of Surgery, said the collaboration with United Therapeutics, is "truly exciting."

"Baylor College of Medicine has been a leader in organ transplantation dating back to the first heart transplantation performed here in 1968, and United Therapeutics is making huge strides in solving the seemingly unsolvable but potentially life-saving riddle of xenotransplantation," Rosengart said. "If we together can unlock this puzzle, there will be new organs available for literally thousands of patients in critical need."