LCT Granted Australian Patent

In a press release, Living Cell Technologies announced it has been granted a patent by the Australian Patent Office for IMMUPEL™. This is the industry leading technology for encapsulating living cells prior to transplantation. The granting of the Australian patent provides protection of this crucial intellectual property in advance of possible future clinical trials in Australia. What country will be next?

This selectively permeable system protects encapsulated living cells from immune rejection without the need for immunnosuppressant drugs, while at the same time allowing the transplanted cells to survive and function normally.

This technology has been demonstrated in Russia and in an on-going Phase II clinical trial in New Zealand, the IMMUPEL platform, as used in LCT's DIABECELL® product, has facilitated the effective transplantation of insulin-secreting porcine pancreatic cells into diabetes patients. Russia has approved its use.

Living Cell Technologies' product is the first to show clear efficacy in humans using encapsulated cells derived from another species, in this case from pigs.

So for readers in Australia watch for clinical trials. For those that want further information and to follow press releases, bookmark this. Use the contact to request information.

Money Pledged for Final Phase II NZ Porcine Trial

DIABECELL now has the money pledged to the final participants in their phase II trial. Two international charitable foundations, New Zealand-based Cure Kids and U.S.-based Children with Diabetes Foundation, have each pledged to provide US $140,000 to fund the final two patients in a Phase II clinical trial in New Zealand that may well transform the treatment of Type 1 diabetes.

The trial is testing DIABECELL as a treatment for Type 1 diabetes and has been developed by Living Cell Technologies, an Australian company domiciled in New Zealand. DIABECELL is designed to help normalize the lives of people with unstable Type 1 diabetes, especially those suffering from life-threatening episodes of unaware hypoglycemia. Tiny DIABECELL micro-spheres containing live islet cells are implanted into a patient's abdomen using a simple laparoscopic procedure.

Once implanted, DIABECELL works by self-regulating and efficiently secreting insulin in response to the patient's changing glucose levels. DIABECELL islets are protected from the body's immune response by LCT's breakthrough proprietary encapsulation technology, so DIABECELL patients do not require any immunosuppression.

To date, twelve of the approved New Zealand patients with unstable insulin dependent diabetes have received this ground-breaking treatment, which has been shown to safely improve diabetes management and reduce or eliminate episodes of life-threatening low blood glucose levels. The dramatic results to date show DIABECELL’s ability to ameliorate this serious complication of diabetes, known as hypoglycemic unawareness, is an important potential benefit to patients.

Read the full press release here from February 16, 2011.

Update on U of MN Clinical Trials

Now I have a better understanding of what is happening at the U of MN Schulze Diabetes Institute. I am now not surprised about not hearing anything from them. I just appreciate that Scott Johnson wrote his blog January 24, 2011 here. He covered his conversation with a participant of the clinical trials. Read his blog for information on that.

I appreciate his links to the Schulze Diabetes Institute web site which gives me insight into what is happening. From Scott's blog, it is clear that the clinical trials are much different from what happened in Russia and are being done in New Zealand. Here they are using immunosuppressants or anti-rejection drugs. This makes the procedure much more dangerous.

Scott has several links to further information so take time to follow them and do some reading. My blog from yesterday is the reason for this when I came across this information. The U of MN site is here and then read about the clinical trials here.  Kathy White's blog has lots of related links and is here.

A lot of information, but I think it is worth reading if you are interested.