Pancryos Forges License Agreement for Microencapsulation Device

Pancryos has executed a global exclusive license with Brigham and Women’s Hospital for a convection-enhanced macroencapsulation device (ceMED) it developed with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI). ceMED will be the delivery mechanism for the company’s stem cell-derived, natural insulin production therapy, PanINSULA, for treating Type 1 diabetes.
 
Developed by a team of researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital led by principal investigator Jeff Karp, Ph.D., in collaboration with colleagues at Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, ceMED is designed to improve cell loading capacity, while increasing cell survival, glucose sensitivity and timely insulin secretion. In preclinical models, the ceMED enhanced the survival and insulin secretion of cells and began to decrease blood glucose level as early as two days post-transplantation. Primary funding and support were provided by JDRF, the leading global type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization.
 
“There are significant advantages of ceMED over existing diffusion-based devices including improved cell survival, reduced fibrous encapsulation that can compromise functionality over time, and quicker on and off rates for insulin secretion,” said Karp, principal investigator and Distinguished Chair in Clinical Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and principal faculty at HSCI.
 
“The Pancryos team is excited to be taking this critical next step towards advancing the promise of our innovation and technology,” said Jacqueline Ameri, Pancryos co-founder and CEO. “The ceMED device solves a critical delivery challenge for stem cell therapies and brings us closer to delivering a cure for the millions who suffer from Type 1 Diabetes.”
 
Type 1 Diabetes affects more than 50 million worldwide—these patients have a lifelong reliance on insulin injections to stay alive. There is no known cure for this disease where the immune system destroys the insulin producing beta cells. 
 
“Great progress has been made advancing stem cell derived treatments for diabetes, now the challenge is how best to deliver the cells,” said Brock Reeve, executive director, HSCI. “With ceMED we are one step closer to achieving the goal of protecting the implanted cells to enhance survival and function post transplantation.”
 
“The early results obtained with the ceMED device indicate that this unique design may overcome the mass transport limitations encountered with traditional macroencapsulation devices and could enable delivery of larger doses of cells without compromising their viability or function,” said Jaime Giraldo, associate director, Research at JDRF International. “We look forward to seeing this technology progresses into clinical studies over the coming years.”
 
“Our goal is to offer all patients with type 1 diabetes a safe and sustainable source of enriched immune-protected functional stem cell-derived beta cells. This exclusive license puts Pancryos in a unique position to deliver our high-quality beta cells with the innovative ceMED device that will protect the cells from immune-attack. This is a very exciting development for the treatment of Type 1 Diabetes and the millions who suffer without a cure,” said Henrik Semb, Ph.D., co-founder of Pancryos.
 
PanCryos ApS is a Danish pre-clinical stage biotech company developing a best-in-class stem cell based allogeneic beta cell therapy, PanINSULA, to treat patients suffering from insulin-dependent Type 1 diabetes. PanINSULA replaces the damaged cells in patients and provides the same glucose control as the pancreatic islet: sensing changes in blood glucose and producing insulin naturally, thus removing the need for outside intervention. Pancryos was spun out from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Biology at the University of Copenhagen.