Implanted islet cells for type 1 diabetes gets approval for human trials

Posted on August 21, 2014 by DiabetesDigest.com Staff in News

The US Food and Drug Administration have approved human trials for a new technique of implanting insulin producing islet cells.
The product that has received approval is called VC-01, with VC standing for ‘virtual cure’. VC-01 involves a capsule, called the Encaptra drug delivery system, being implanted under the skin. Within the Encaptra system are stem cells, called PEC-01 cells, which have been programmed to develop into insulin producing islet cells.
The Encaptra system has life changing properties for people with type 1 diabetes as it allows insulin to pass out of the capsule, nutrients such as glucose and oxygen to pass into the capsule to feed the living cells yet protects the cells from the immune attack of type 1 diabetes.
The major problem in type 1 diabetes is that the immune system gets incorrectly programmed to attack insulin producing cells. The human clinical trials will therefore allow ViaCyte, the company that has developed the VC-01 system, to test how strongly the technique performs in humans with type 1 diabetes.
ViaCyte has received an important boost this week, towards funding human trials, as the company has recently received $20 million (around £12 million) from the large pharmaceutical firm Johnson and Johnson. The new …read more

Source:: News from Diabetes.co.uk

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Constance Brown-Riggs, MSEd, RD, CDE, CDN—an award-winning RD, certified diabetes educator, and past national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is the author of The African American Guide to Living Well With Diabetes, which received the Favorably Reviewed designation from the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and Eating Soulfully and Healthfully with Diabetes.

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