Betalin Therapeutics‘ Micro Pancreas will be tested on humans within 12 months.
The biological pancreas contains living islet cells that are able to produce insulin but need oxygen to keep them alive. This is where the lung tissue comes in. By seeding islet cells onto lung tissue, the researchers are confident that the islet cells can breathe and survive once implanted into the body.
The new technique has demonstrated success in animal trials and the research team are keen to test how well the system works in humans.
Dr. Nikolai Kunicher, CEO of Jerusalem-based Betalin Therapeutics, claims the product could be available to people with diabetes within five years.
So far $3.5 million has been raised by Betalin Therapeutics and the company is seeking a further $5 million before the study on humans starts, with each biological artificial pancreas due to cost about $50,000 per participant.
The Betalin team includes Sidney Altman, who won the 1989 Nobel Prize for chemistry. Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, he said both himself and his mum have type 2 diabetes and he lost his brother to the condition.
The researchers are developing the bio-artificial pancreas with a view towards treating type 1 diabetes. A number of research teams are working on methods using living islet cells but, so far, there have been difficulties in keeping living cells alive within the body for people with type 1. It is a challenge because living islet cells require oxygen but also need to be protected from the autoimmune response of type 1 diabetes, that tries to kill insulin-producing cells.
Dr. Avi Treves, who leads Betalin’s research and development, said the biological pancreas is a stage ahead of the Edmonton Protocol, which is the method of implantation of pancreatic islets.
Dr. Treves said, “Doctors take a suspension of islets from a donor and implant them into a patient. This can cure patients for a few years. But it is a complicated procedure and has many disadvantages, such as that the tissue dies over time, and patients have to be immunosuppressed because you are implanting a foreign tissue.”
Instead, Dr. Treves said cells from the biological pancreas last for longer and have an improved function, with the whole process potentially being easier and cheaper.
The firm was launched in 2015, with the biological pancreas based on 10 years’ research led by Hebrew University’s Professor Eduardo Miterani.
About Betalin Therapeutics, Ltd.
Established in 2015, Betalin Therapeutics is developing a biological micro pancreas implanted with human-source pancreatic islets. The Endocrine Micro-Pancreas (EMP™) is intended to be transplanted subcutaneously to patients suffering from Type 1 or severe Type 2 diabetes and restore their ability to produce insulin and have normal glycemic control. The Company has entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement for the EMP™ technology with Yissum, the Technology Transfer Company of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Contact:
Shay Herchcovici, VP Business Development, Betalin Therapeutics
shay@betalintherapeutics.com Tel: +972.50.843.1473
Source: www.diabetes.co.uk
