MORE than 1,600 people in the South East of England suffered from fatal liver disease in 2015.

New food and drink company, Liver Health UK, has partnered with The Liver Group charity to tackle non-alcohol related liver disease throughout the region.

The company will donate a portion of its revenue from product sales to the medical research charity which is focused on the development of a Bio-Artificial liver machine.

Liver disease is one of the fastest growing health issues in the UK and one in three adults are currently living with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Asanka De Silva, CEO of Liver Health UK, said: “Our partnership with The Liver Group Charity is all about funding research and development to improve the lives of those suffering from liver disease.

"Currently, 80 per cent of people living in the UK with acute liver failure will die without a transplant.”

A Bio-Artificial Liver Machine takes the patients blood, passes it through the machine of liver cells and returns the 'cleaned' blood to the patient.

Professor Humphrey Hodgson, chairman of The Liver Group Charity, said: “Only two in every three people on the liver transplant list in the UK get a new liver on time.

"With no current cure for liver disease it is imperative that we continue with our research and development of a Bio-Artificial Liver Machine.

“The partnership with Liver Health UK allows the The Liver Group Charity to continue funding research, development and testing to ensure we reach our end goal and improve the lives of those living with liver disease.”