Posted by Mary E. on June 06, 1999 at 16:11:53:
DESMOS AND MICRO ISLET COLLABORATE TO EVALUATE TECHNOLOGIES FOR TREATING DIABETES
Story Filed: Friday, June 04, 1999 8:23 AM EST
SAN DIEGO, Jun 4, 1999 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Desmos, Inc. and Micro Islet, Inc. are pleased to announce a collaboration to explore the use of
Desmos' pancreatic islet expansion technology with Micro Islet's islet encapsulation technology for the treatment of diabetes.
As many as 16 million people in the U.S are currently living with diabetes, and approximately 4 million of these people require daily insulin therapy to help them
manage their disease. People with Type 1 diabetes typically do not produce any insulin because the insulin-producing beta cells have been destroyed by an
autoimmune reaction. Type 1 diabetics require self-monitoring of blood glucose, a strict diet, and a multitude of insulin injections. Of those people with Type 2
diabetes, although they produce some insulin, approximately 40 percent also require insulin injections. These populations would be most likely to benefit from
transplanted islets to restore normally functioning, insulin-producing cells instead of only treating the symptoms of the disease.
Desmos' proprietary laminin-5 technology has been shown to provide unique properties as a substrate to allow proliferation of a variety of cell types. Desmos has
succeeded in proliferating primary islet cells on laminin-5, and then reaggregating them to restore cell and islet functionality as well as glucose-responsiveness. Initial
work was accomplished using porcine cellsto establish proof of principle; work with human cells has also demonstrated successful expansion of functional islets.
The purpose for expanding islets for transplantation is to provide an adequate supply for this potentially curative approach to treatment of the disease, since a
limited number ofdonor pancreases are available for transplantation each year in the U.S. Currently, many diabetics die each year because there are not enough
donor islets available.
Micro Islet technology is focused on addressing the immune response issues associated with cell therapy, and is based on encapsulation of islets to protect them
from immune reactions. Developed by Dr. Emmanuel Opara at the Duke University Medical Center, the encapsulation technology encloses islet cells in a sphere
that is made of a thin alginate-polylysine membrane, permeable to glucose and insulin, but not to lymphocytes and immunoglobulins. The membrane has the ability to
protect the insulin-producing cells against the cytotoxic effect of anti-islet antibodies.
The Desmos and Micro Islet technologies complement each other and provide a potential synergistic solution for treating diabetes. Each company is in the process
of exploring a variety of complementary technologies through collaborations such as this. Prior to having a product that is ready forthe market, extensive preclinical
and clinical testing would be required.
Richard T. Haiduck, President & CEO of Desmos, comments, "We are pleased to begin the process of evaluating our expanded islets with encapsulation
technologies as one of the ways to address the immune response issues associated with cell therapy. We are also excited to work with Micro Islet where our
complementary technologies align with our common goals to treat diabetes "
John F. Steel IV, President & CEO of Micro Islet, comments, "I have had Type 1 diabetes for 15 years, have participated in many trials to treat my disease and
continue to search for a solution which is an improvement over today's treatment options. Eliminating or reducing the need for frequent insulin injections and
blood-glucose monitoring would be a major milestone in the day-to-day management of diabetes. I am looking forward to the day where I can restore normal
insulin producing cells to my body through islet transplantation."
Desmos, Inc. is a bioenhancement company developing innovative products to treat human disease using proprietary cell adhesion and tissue engineering
technology. Desmos is initially developing applications of its technology for periodontal disease, diabetes therapy, and medical device biocoatings. Desmos is
funded by a group of private investors including Burr, Egan & Deleage, Sanderling, Walden, BiotechVest, Goldman Sachs, Graystone, and SorrentoVentures.
Micro Islet is a company dedicated to helping find the cure for insulin- dependent diabetes. The company has licensed several technologies from Duke University
that have been developed over the last decade by Dr. Emmanuel Opara at the Duke University Medical Center. Micro Islet's proprietary system for islet cell
transplantation has shown efficacy in small animals and the company is sponsoring research in non-human primates at this time. Additionally, Micro Islet has a
collaboration with the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences laboratory of Islet Transplantation. Micro Islet, Inc. is funded by a group of private investors including
Kevin J. Kinsella and John F. Steel IV.
SOURCE Desmos, Inc. (C) 1999 PR Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.prnewswire.com
CONTACT: Richard T. Haiduck, President & CEO of Desmos, Inc.,
619-455-3708, fax 619-455-3962, dhaiduck@desmos.com; or John F. Steel IV, President & CEO of Micro Islet, Inc., 619-688-8387, fax 619-623-3396
WEB PAGE:
http://www.desmos.com
GEOGRAPHY: California