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Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is a chronic, life-threatening disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In the United States, 30,000 new cases are estimated every year with half of those cases diagnosed in young children. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the patient`s immune system goes awry and attacks and destroys the pancreatic beta cells. Beta cells are responsible for regulating blood sugar (glucose) levels by producing precise amounts of the essential hormone insulin. The discovery of injectable insulin in the 1920s changed T1D from a uniformly fatal disease with a life expectancy of months to one that could be carefully managed for decades through multiple daily blood glucose measurements and insulin injections. However, insulin injections are not a cure and patients face a lifetime of difficult disease management and serious complications including kidney failure, blindness and nerve damage. Despite nearly a century passing since the discovery of insulin, insulin injection remains the only treatment available to patients. Semma Therapeutics was founded to develop transformative therapies for patients who currently depend on insulin injections. Recent work in the laboratory of Professor Douglas Melton led to the discovery of a method to generate billions of functional, insulin-producing beta cells in the laboratory. These cells develop in islet-like clusters grown from stem cells. Initial preclinical work in animal models of diabetes has shown that transplantation of these cells are sufficient to control blood glucose levels. This breakthrough technology has been exclusively licensed to Semma Therapeutics for the development of a cell-based therapy for diabetes. Ongoing research at Semma Therapeutics is focused on combining these proprietary cells with a state-of-the-art cell delivery and immune protection strategy that can protect these cells from the patient`s immune system and allow the beta cells to function as they do in non-diabetic individuals. Implantation of the beta cell-filled device has the potential to provide a true replacement for the missing beta cells in a diabetic patient and would not require patient immunosuppression. Semma Therapeutics is working to bring this new therapeutic option to the clinic and improve the lives of patients with diabetes.
AdPharma is a Arlington Heights, IL-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
ViaCyte is a privately held regenerative medicine company developing novel cell replacement therapies as potential long-term diabetes treatments to achieve glucose control targets and reduce the risk of hypoglycemia and diabetes-related complications. ViaCyte`s product candidates are based on directed differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into PEC-01 pancreatic islet progenitor cells, which are then implanted in durable and retrievable cell delivery devices. ViaCyte demonstrated that when effectively engrafted, PEC-01 cells can mature into glucose-responsive insulin producing cells in patients with type 1 diabetes. To accelerate and expand its efforts, ViaCyte has established collaborative partnerships with leading companies including CRISPR Therapeutics and W.L. Gore & Associates.
Aspira Women`s Health Inc. (formerly known as Vermillion, Inc. Nasdaq: VRML) is transforming women`s health with the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative testing options and bio-analytical solutions that help physicians assess risk, optimize patient management and improve gynecologic health outcomes for women. OVA1®plus combines our FDA-cleared products OVA1® and OVERA® to detect the risk of ovarian malignancy in women with adnexal masses. ASPiRA GenetiXSM testing offers both targeted and a more comprehensive genetic testing options with a gynecologic focus. Our focus is on delivering products that allow healthcare providers to stratify risk, facilitate early detection, and optimize treatment.
Trisand Inc is a Eugene, OR-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.