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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.
Tarcine is a Thousand Oaks, CA-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Spotlight Therapeutics is a venture funded early-stage biotechnology company with a mission to develop a new class of therapeutics by enabling direct in vivo gene editing. Founded by Alex Marson (UCSF), Jacob Corn (UC Berkeley), and Patrick Hsu (Salk Institute) in December of 2017, Spotlight is building its core technology platform to achieve precise in vivo gene editing in targeted cell populations. With a therapeutic focus centered on oncology, our engineered nucleases edit the genes in targeted disease organs thereby inactivating or altering the gene product. We are hiring rapidly to build out our cutting-edge research and development team. This team is responsible for preclinical development ranging from protein engineering, gene editing to immuno-oncology and in vivo safety studies. Join us and work on the next generation of gene editing therapeutics in a fast-paced and exciting environment.
Celtaxsys is a privately-held clinical stage drug discovery and development company with operations in San Francisco, CA and Atlanta, GA.
Precision BioSciences is a publicly held biotechnology company dedicated to improving life through its next generation gene editing technology, ARCUS. Precision`s cell therapy, gene therapy, and agriculture programs are based on the proprietary ARCUS gene editing platform, which features coordinated target site binding and DNA cutting to ensure precise edits. Our team includes pioneers in genome engineering, biotech business leaders, and a growing staff of committed Precisioneers. We work together in our beautifully designed, award-winning space in vibrant downtown Durham, NC; a place with great restaurants and museums as well as fantastic housing and schools. Precision provides all employees a sense of purpose, thoughtfully designed laboratory and office spaces, and opportunities to train and grow – not to mention plentifully stocked kitchens and fantastic benefits. At Precision BioSciences, we are excited to work together toward improving lives by realizing the potential of gene editing.