ViaCyte, which raised $115 million in venture capital, is working on treatments that could help some people with type 1 diabetes produce their own insulin.
A century ago, type 1 diabetes was a death sentence. But San Diego biotech ViaCyte says two studies published last week show the company is getting closer to what it calls a "functional cure" for the disease.
SAN DIEGO —A century ago, type 1 diabetes was a death sentence. But San Diego biotech ViaCyte says two studies published this week show the company is getting closer to
ViaCyte says its treatment helped some type 1 diabetics produce their own insulin in an ongoing clinical trial. But the company now must reproduce and expand on the finding.
Two research groups have reported on a multicenter clinical trial that demonstrate insulin secretion from implanted cells in patients with type 1 diabetes. The study grafts pancreatic endoderm cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) under the skin in 26 patients. While the insulin secreted by the implants did not have clinical effects in the patients, the results offer evidence of the possibility of meal-regulated insulin secretion by differentiated stem cells in human patients.