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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.
Celgene Corporation is an integrated global pharmaceutical company engaged primarily in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases through gene and protein regulation. Our talent, scientific knowledge and research capabilities help us to deliver access to innovative, disease-altering therapies to those who need them most. Celgene puts patients first with industry-leading programs that provide information, support and access to our innovative therapies. Celgene is headquartered in Summit, New Jersey, and employs more than 7,000 people located in more than 60 countries.
Meiogen Biotechnology Corporation is a Beverly, MA-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Ostioporsis Imaging Ctr/Breast is a Palm Harbor, FL-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Immatics Biotechnologies is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leading the development of advanced immunotherapies that are active against cancer. Cancer immunotherapy is still severely constrained by the lack of novel targets. Immatics overcomes this by applying its target discovery engine XPRESIDENT® to identify and validate antigens specific to cancer cells. These antigens, also called Tumor-Associated Peptides (TUMAPs), are able to activate T cells which are responsible for identifying and destroying cancer cells. These well characterized TUMAPs can be used as targets for all of the most promising cancer immunotherapy approaches including Adoptive Cell Therapies (ACT), soluble T Cell Receptors (TCRs), Antibodies and Cancer Vaccines. The US based Immatics US, Inc., launched in Aug. 2015, is focused on the development of three ACT approaches for the treatment of tumors with high unmet medical needs: ACTolog™, ACTengine™, and ACTallo™ in close collaboration with leading scientists at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, who contribute their long-term ACT expertise. The first ACT products are expected to enter the clinic in 2016. Immatics signed a strategic cancer immunotherapy collaboration with Roche in November 2013 to research, develop and commercialize a number of new cancer peptide antigen-based immunotherapies. In addition, Immatics is engaged in the development of soluble T-cell receptor (sTCR) approaches as well as monoclonal antibodies (mABs) directed towards XPRESIDENT® targets. The latter will be pursued in a strategic alliance with MorphoSys. Immatics is further conducting the clinical development of fully personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines, Glioma Actively Personalized VAccine Consortium (GAPVAC; an EU-funded consortium) in collaboration with BioNTech. Immatics GmbH is based in Tübingen, Germany, with a headcount of approximately 90 people. Immatics US, Inc. is based in Houston, Texas, USA, and currently employs approximately 15 people.