Could a Lab-Made protein replace donor albumin for liver patients?
NCT ID NCT05858853
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether a lab-made version of a blood protein (recombinant human serum albumin) works as well as the standard human-derived version for people with liver cirrhosis and fluid buildup in the belly (ascites). 92 adults took part in a double-blind, randomized trial. The main goal was to see if the lab-made protein raises blood albumin levels just as effectively, which could offer a safer, more reliable supply.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2/3
Runs two stages together: whether the treatment works, then large-scale confirmation.
- Participants
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92 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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May 2023
- Finished
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Sep 2023
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 70 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Agreed to follow the experimental treatment plan and visit plan, voluntarily enrolled in the group, and signed the informed consent in person; 2. Age ≥18 years old and ≤70 years old, regardless of gender, on the date of signing the informed consent; Body mass index (BMI) was in the range of 18.0 to 29.0 kg/m2 (including boundary values); 3. Patients clinically diagnosed with decompensated cirrhosis with ascites of grade 1 to grade 2 and serum albumin (ALB) \<30 g/L were confirmed by abdominal ultrasound examination during the screening period. 4. Fertile men and women of childbearing age (women of childbearing age include premenopausal women and women within 2 years after menopause) are willing to sign the informed consent from the time after the last administration of the investigational drug 3 Take effective contraceptive measures (condom, contraceptive sponge, contraceptive gel, contraceptive film, intrauterine device, oral or injectable contraceptive, subcutaneous implant, etc.) within a month; Pregnancy test results must be negative for women of childbearing age within 7 days or less before the initial trial drug administration. Exclusion Criteria: 1. People who have a known history of allergy/allergic reaction to yeast or yeast-derived products, or to any component of the study preparation; Allergic constitution (multiple drug or food allergy), or have a history of biological product allergy, other causes Had a history of severe systemic anaphylaxis and was judged by the investigator to be unsuitable for treatment with the experimental drug; 2. At the time of screening, there were severe digestive diseases and complications that were deemed unsuitable for participation in this study by the investigators, including but not limited to malignant ascites and a diagnosis of Grade III or IV liver according to the West-Haven grading criteria Patients with encephalopathy, portal vein cancer thrombus/thrombus, circulatory dysfunction after abdominal puncture, obstructive biliary tract disease identified by ultrasound or other imaging, gastrointestinal bleeding who stopped bleeding less than 10 days after treatment or did not effectively stop bleeding after endoscopic ligation, or who were at greater risk of bleeding during the trial as assessed by the investigator (e.g., before screening) Gastroscopy within 3 months indicated severe esophageal and fundus varices with positive red sign); 3. At the time of screening, there was a history of active cardiovascular disease or other conditions that the investigator judged unsuitable for human albumin therapy, including, but not limited to, hypertension (systolic blood pressure \>140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure \>90 mmHg, The investigators judged that patients were well controlled and stable), severe anemia, acute heart disease, severe cardiopulmonary or structural heart disease, severe arrhythmia, decompensated heart failure (normal or high blood volume), unstable angina, and nearly 6 Myocardial infarction, medicated tachycardia/bradycardia, third-degree atrioventricular block occurred within a month; 4. Patients with active metabolic system diseases or medical history (except diabetic patients with good blood glucose control) at the time of screening, or patients with combined renal function injury who are not suitable for serum albumin treatment according to the investigators; 5. If there are serious underlying diseases during screening, the researchers think it is not suitable to participate in this study. These include, but are not limited to, active malignancies (including hepatocellular carcinoma \[HCC\]), pulmonary edema, bleeding prone or active bleeding diseases, uncontrolled infections (including active spontaneous bacterial peritonitis \[SBP\]), thyroid dysfunction (according to the National Cancer Institute Standard for Common Terminology for Adverse Events \[NCI CTCAE\] version 5.0 3 Grade and above), etc.; 6. The patient has the following abnormalities in laboratory examination: (1). Liver function: alanine aminotransferase (ALT) \> 5×ULN (upper limit of normal value); Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) \>5×ULN; Serum bilirubin (TBIL) \>4× the upper limit of normal (ULN) or was deemed unsuitable for trial participation by the investigator; (2) Renal function: serum creatinine \>3× upper limit of normal (ULN), urine protein positive and deemed unfit for study; (3) Bone marrow function: absolute value of neutrophil (ANC) \<1.0×10\^9/L; Platelet (PLT) \<20×10\^9/L; Hemoglobin (HGB) \<70 g/L; (4) Coagulation function: prothrombin time (PT) extended \>5s; 7. Persons who have been treated with human plasma preparations (including human blood albumin preparations) within 7 days prior to the initial administration of the experimental drug; People with a history of organ transplantation; Those who need or plan to undergo interventional invasive testing or therapy during the study; 8. Those who have participated in or are participating in clinical trials of other new drugs or medical devices and have used investigational drugs/investigational treatments within 30 days prior to screening; 9. Those who test positive for antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); 10. Pregnant or lactating women; 11. Other reasons why the researcher considered it inappropriate to participate in the study.
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University
Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100000, China
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Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University
Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100000, China
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Beijing YouAn Hospital, Capital Medical University
Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100000, China
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Central Hospital of Hengyang
Hengyang, Hunan, 421000, China
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Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University (Department of Hepatology)
Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510000, China
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Linfen Central Hospital
Linfen, Shanxi, 041000, China
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Meihekou Central Hospital
Tonghua, Jilin, 135099, China
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People's Hospital of Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou, Henan, 450000, China
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Pingxiang No.2 People's Hospital
Pingxiang, Jiangxi, 337000, China
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Pingxiang People's Hospital
Pingxiang, Jiangxi, 337000, China
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Shandong Public Health Clinical Center
Jinan, Shandong, 250000, China
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Shenzhen Protgen Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518000, China
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Shunde Hospital of Southern Medical University
Foshan, Guangdong, 528000, China
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The Affiliated Hospital of Xiangnan University
Chenzhou, Hunan, 423000, China
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The First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China (Department of Infectious Diseases)
Hengyang, Hunan, 421000, China
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The First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China(Department of Gastroenterology)
Hengyang, Hunan, 421000, China
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The First Hospital of Changsha
Changsha, Hunan, 410005, China
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The First People's Hospital of Changde City (Department of Infectious Diseases)
Changde, Hunan, 415000, China
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The First People's Hospital of Changde City(Department of Gastroenterology)
Changde, Hunan, 415000, China
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The Ninth Hospital of Nanchang
Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330000, China
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The Sixth People's Hospital of Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou, Henan, 450000, China
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Xinyang Central Hospital
Xinyang, Henan, 464000, China
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Yiyang Central Hospital
Yiyang, Hunan, 413000, China
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Yueyang Central Hospital
Yueyang, Hunan, 414000, China
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Zhuzhou Central Hospital
Zhuzhou, Hunan, 412000, China
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