A London company with a $250,000 federal grant fresh in hand is making sure those testing its radical new drug treatment for diabetes aren’t getting sick.
Sernova Corp. just won a patent for a new drug treatment, meaning those testing it in clinical trials won’t need anti-rejection medicine.
The patent is a big step to bringing the treatment to market, said Philip Toleikis, chief executive of Sernova.
“This is very important. It offers a non-toxic therapy for patients,” he said. “I feel really good about this. We have a grant optimizing our technology and we have patent protection until 2027 — that’s a long time.”
Sernova has developed a diabetes treatment in which a “cell pouch” is implanted under the skin in a patient’s belly. Islets planted in the pouch produce insulin naturally in response to the patient’s blood-sugar levels.
Islets are cells from the pancreas, extracted from a donor, creating a mini-pancreas. Human trials began on the treatment last year and those in the trial have had to take anti-rejection medicine — lowering their immune system and leaving them vulnerable to infection — until now.
“This is a big step. It means its treatment is now much more accessible. If there is rejection from the body, it is not successful,” said Sharon O’Leary, manager of the London Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
The new technology involves planting sertoli cells in the pouch, protecting the islets from being attacked by the body’s immune system.
“In any transplant, rejection is the hardest thing, and this lessens that,” O’Leary said. “They have a very marketable product here.”
Sernova received a $250,000 grant from the National Research Council office to develop the sertoli cell treatment.
Clinical trials are ongoing and though results of the testing haven’t been released, the fact it is still accepting new patients is “a good sign, it is considered very positive,” Toleikis said.
DIABETES TREATMENT
- A “cell pouch” is implanted under the skin in a patient’s belly.
- Islets — cells from the pancreas, extracted from a donor, creating a mini-pancreas — planted in the pouch produce insulin naturally, in response to the patient’s blood-sugar levels.
- The pouch isn’t visible on the patient.
- Human clinical trials began last year.
