[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Islet Foundation Message Forum ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by DWK on 09:09:12 2004/08/03
ALBANY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 2, 2004--After positive pre-clinical results, investigators at The Institute for Therapeutic Discovery have committed themselves to expanding their research of diabetes and diabetic neuropathy. Using a patented low-level antibody therapy (LLAT), it has been found that LLAT may reverse the disease, possibly eliminating the need for insulin. A key aspect of this leading-edge study will be the opening of a laboratory in Providence, RI, where the focus will be in the study of the mechanism of action for its novel therapeutic agent to treat these disorders.
Antibodies in such low concentrations have never before been used as a therapeutic agent, which sets the stage for a possible medical breakthrough in treating diabetes as well as in treating other chronic diseases which have an immune component. The Institute's founder and president, John McMichael, Ph.D., says, "The goal of our novel approach is to interrupt specific antibody formation without broad spectrum immunosuppression. By doing so, we think we can interrupt the disease process and give the body a chance to heal, and so reverse diabetes."
Over 18 million Americans--more than six percent of the population--now have diabetes, with an additional 1.3 million new cases diagnosed each year. There is currently no cure, and insulin treatment only slows progression. Both Type 1 and 2 diabetes may also produce serious complications such as heart disease and stroke, kidney disease from minor damage to complete failure, eye problems from cataracts to blindness, neuropathy and nerve damage from no feeling whatsoever to extreme pain as well as an increased risk of amputation.
In addition to the progressive deterioration of a diabetes patient's quality of life and the increased risk of premature death, diabetes and the resulting complications take a staggering economic toll on society. According to the American Diabetes Association, the annual medical cost is expected to climb from $132 billion in 2002 to $156 billion by 2010 (in 2002 dollars).
Exciting results in initial LLAT studies led to encouraging pre-clinical successes in humans. The next stage of evaluation will expand mechanism-of-action studies in laboratory animal models which will be conducted at the University of California, Davis, prior to FDA-authorized clinical trials to test the diabetes therapy in humans.
The Institute for Therapeutic Discovery is a not-for-profit research organization specializing in discovery and early-stage development of therapeutic agents for chronic diseases. It is headquartered near Albany, NY, with offices in Boxford, MA, and Richmond, VA.
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Islet Foundation Message Forum ] [ FAQ ]