Can a Lab-Grown vein with a Built-In valve fix damaged leg veins?
NCT ID NCT03784131
First seen Aug 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 28, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial tests whether a personalized tissue-engineered vein, made in the lab with a functioning valve, can safely replace a damaged vein segment in people with severe chronic venous insufficiency. Each participant undergoes surgery to swap a non-working valve in their femoral vein for the engineered one. Researchers monitor for complications like blood clots, infections, and surgical problems, and also track changes in symptoms. The goal is to see if this approach is safe and feasible before larger studies.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- A personalized tissue-engineered vein with a functioning valve, implanted surgically to replace a damaged vein segment.
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a new way to repair damaged leg veins and ease symptoms like pain, swelling, and ulcers in people with chronic venous insufficiency.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early, first-in-human study with only 11 participants. The vein could clot, become infected, or fail to work, and the surgery itself carries risks.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Phase 1
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
-
11 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
-
Dec 2021
- Finished
-
Jun 2025
- Lead sponsor
-
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
-
18 to 75 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
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: * Patients aged between 18 and 75 years (inclusive) * CVI patients with painful swelling and/or skin changes and/or recurrent leg ulcer despite optimal conservative treatment for a period of time according to the investigator's judgement * Patients with deep venous reflux (grade 3 and above) * Meeting ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists Classification) class 1 or 2 according to the PIs criteria * Laboratory values * INR \<1.7 (in case the patient uses Warfarin, the test might be repeated after the anticoagulant change) * Platelets ≥ 100 x 10 9 /L * Hemoglobin ≥ 100 g/L * Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN) * ASAT ≤ 2.5 × ULN * ALAT ≤ 2.5 × ULN * Ability to understand the requirements of the study, give direct or representative written informed consent, and comply with the study procedures Exclusion Criteria: * Patients incapable to give direct or representative written informed consent * Patients unlikely to cooperate fully in the study and/or with an anticipated poor compliance * Non-walking patients or patients with lost ankle joint function * Patients previously organ-transplanted * Patients with cancer except in-situ stage cancer (basal-cell carcinomas and/or cervix cancer) and five year recurrence free period after treatment * Patients with autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, SLE and MS * Pregnant or breast feeding women * Patients with ongoing estrogen treatment for example for contraception. Alternative contraceptive methods (e.g. intrauterine device, bilateral tubal occlusion, vasectomized partner, sexual abstinence) should be used by women of reproductive age (defined as pre-menopausal female capable of becoming pregnant). * BMI ≥ 35 * Patients who have participated in other clinical trials during the last 12 months * Patients with artery pathology (ankle-brachial pressure index \< 0,9 or \> 1,3) * Patients with thrombophilia according to the laboratory results at inclusion visit. One of the following criteria is needed for thrombophilia: Protein C \< 40% or Protein S \< 40 % or Leiden factor mutation or Antithrombin III \< 40 % or present Lupus anticoagulant or Homocysteine \> 1.5 ULN * Patients with an active infection requiring systemic antibiotic treatment * Patients with clinically significant cardiac disease (New York Heart Association, Class III or IV) or measured LVEF 40% * Patients with uncontrolled hypertension * Patients with renal dysfunction eGFR \< 45 ml/min (according to the MDRD calculation) * Patients with moderate or severe hepatic impairment (Child Pugh ≥ 7 points, i.e. class B or C) * Patients with ongoing immunosuppression, systemic Cortisol treatment etc. * Less than 3 months since previous ipsilateral venous intervention (e.g. Iliac recanalization) * Clinically significant iliocaval stenosis or occlusion * Current smoker of more than 20 cigarettes per day * Other uncontrolled intercurrent illness that would jeopardize the patient's safety, interfere with the objectives of the protocol, or limit the patient's compliance with study requirements, as determined by the Investigator in consultation with the Sponsor * Patients with severe SARSCoV-2 virus infection requiring hospitalization in the past 6 months
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Junta de Andalusia
Seville, Spain
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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