In this two year project titled “Development of Novel Therapeutic Agents Enhancing Human Beta Cell Survival”, DeveloGen, together with the Istituto San Raffaele, Milan, Italy, will investigate the influence of certain substances on human beta cells. A particular focus of the work will be on mechanisms which have the potential to protect insulin producing beta cells from dying. The research project is expected to deliver important insight into the development of novel therapies with the potential of a disease modifying treatment of diabetes mellitus, a disease affecting an estimated 246 million patients worldwide.
Richard A. Insel, MD, Chief Scientific Officer at JDRF, said: “JDRF is pleased to be supporting research to pursue new approaches to promote the functioning and survival of insulin-producing beta cells. The results of this project could contribute to the discovery of break-through therapies for people with type 1 diabetes.”
Diabetes is a global epidemic with devastating human, social and economic consequences. In 2007 it was estimated that 246 million people worldwide have diabetes, representing roughly 6% of the adult population. The number is expected to reach 380 million by 2025, representing over 7% of the adult population. Diabetes/obesity is the fastest growing disease in the USA, afflicting one in four Americans and accounting for well over 30% of the Medicare budget. Global pharmaceutical sales for diabetes drugs has grown over the last ten years to over US$ 17 billion in 2005. Overall, anti-diabetic drugs sales are expected to grow to over US$ 22 billion by 2012.
Accumulating scientific evidence in humans indicates that new beta cells are continuously generated in response to changing insulin demands of the body. DeveloGen is identifying and using mechanisms involved in the dynamic regulation of beta cell mass to develop drugs that stimulate the regeneration or protection of beta cells in diabetic patients. DeveloGen has identified novel secreted factors from early embryonic stages of pancreas development that have the ability to stimulate beta cell differentiation and/or proliferation. In vivo administration of these factors leads to an increase in beta cell mass and improved glycemic control. Further development of these drug candidates will provide alternative therapies to current treatment options including islet cell transplantation but also insulin therapy. In addition, already identified drug candidates may be effective tools for the expansion and functional preservation of islets to be used in transplantation procedures as well as the generation of transplantable beta cells from stem cells.