ViaCyte and Gore collaborate on new diabetes treatments
pharmafile | March 3, 2021 | News story | Research and Development | Type 1 diabetes, diabetes, diabetes treatment, gore, viacyte
Clinical stage medicine company ViaCyte have extended their collaboration with materials science organisation Gore to develop new candidates for the treatment of diabetes.
The agreement, worth an undisclosed amount, will also extend research and clinical development across ViaCyte’s full product portfolio, and will use Gore’s full materials and technologies.
This will include a closed encapsulation system, jointly developed by the two companies to treat Type 1 diabetes.
The system has been shown by ViaCyte to encourage cells to mature into beta cells that secrete insulin, a hormone which Type 1 diabetes sufferers are unable to make that helps to control blood sugar levels.
The company will be launching a Phase II trial of its closed device, featuring Gore’s novel membrane technologies, in the second half of this year. Phase II trials, in open devices that deliver cell replacement therapies, are currently ongoing too.
Diabetes affects roughly 415 million people worldwide, with Type 1 diabetes accounting for roughly 10% of all cases. Around 400,000 people in the UK have Type 1 diabetes, whereas 1.25 million Americans are living with the Type 1 variant of the illness.
Ian Smith, Executive Chairman of ViaCyte, said: ”This agreement expands our relationship with Gore across our platform, including both open and closed devices, and across their proprietary capabilities to establish our path for a commercial cell-based therapy product.
“Initial clinical studies suggest Gore’s novel membrane technology can support engraftment and pancreatic beta cell proliferation, while minimising the host foreign body response, and we look forward to confirming these findings with clinical results on the first group of patients later this year.”
Lauren Zambotti, Technical Leader of Gore PharmBIO Cell Encapsulation Products, added: ”Our collaboration with ViaCyte is a great example of how Gore’s leading materials science and medical device expertise can be applied to complex medical problems.
“We’re excited to leverage Gore’s capabilities to further advance materials and devices for optimisation of the biologic activity with ViaCyte’s cell therapy. Together, we have the potential to transform the lives of people suffering from diabetes.”
Jack Goddard
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