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The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF),
the world’s largest charitable funder of
type 1 diabetes research, announced today
that it is partnering with Plureon
Corporation, a biotechnology company based
in Winston-Salem, N.C. that focuses on
developing therapeutic applications of stem
cells.
Through its Industry Discovery and Development
Partnership Program, JDRF is providing $500,000 over two
years of research funding aimed at developing an
insulin-producing beta cell therapy product for the
treatment of type 1 diabetes.
“Plureon is exploring exciting alternatives to treat
or cure diabetes by developing cell therapies to replace
beta cells using adult stem cells as a source,” said
Julia Greenstein, Therapeutic Program Director for
Replacement at JDRF. “The results from this study may
provide a new strategy to restore function of
insulin-producing cells, creating a significant,
positive clinical impact on patients with diabetes.”
“This award enables us to extend our research in the
field of diabetes,” said Hal Eason, founder and CEO of
Plureon. “By leveraging our existing technology and
know-how across additional sources of stem cells, we
hope to open new pathways towards a cure. We are
grateful for JDRF’s partnership in this pursuit.”
The project plans to use Plureon’s technology
platform to isolate adult stem cells from a type 1
diabetes patient and re-program them to generate fully
functional pancreatic beta-cells. The objective is to
return the re-programmed insulin-producing cells back
into the patient in an autologous manner, i.e., without
the need for immunosuppressive agents normally required
for organ transplantation – in this manner, the
patient’s own transplanted cells will be capable of
glucose-dependent insulin secretion and the restoration
of normal blood sugar levels.
Plureon is the latest company to work with JDRF
through its innovative Industry Discovery and
Development Partnership program. Through the program,
JDRF partners with pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical
device businesses that seek to develop drugs,
treatments, technologies, and other therapeutics leading
to a cure, reversal, or prevention of type 1 diabetes
and its complications. To date, JDRF has 22 IDDP
partners across a range of research areas, committing
approximately $25 million in research funding.
Diabetes is a chronic, debilitating disease affecting
every organ system. There are two major types of
diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes is an
autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops
producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get
energy from food. Type 1 diabetes usually strikes in
childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood, but lasts a
lifetime. People with type 1 diabetes must take multiple
injections of insulin daily or continuous infusion of
insulin through a pump just to survive. (Type 2
diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which a person’s
body still produces insulin but is unable to use it
effectively.) Taking insulin does not cure any type of
diabetes nor prevent the possibility of its eventual and
devastating effects: kidney failure, blindness, nerve
damage, amputation, heart attack, and stroke.
About JDRF
JDRF was founded in 1970 by the parents of children with
type 1 diabetes -- a disease that strikes children,
adolescents, and adults suddenly, makes them insulin
dependent for life, and carries the constant threat of
devastating complications. Since inception, JDRF has
provided more than $1.16 billion to diabetes research
worldwide. More than 85 percent of JDRF's expenditures
directly support research and research-related
education. JDRF's mission is constant: to find a cure
for type 1 diabetes and its complications through the
support of research. For more information please visit
www.jdrf.org
About Plureon Corporation
Plureon Corporation is a research stage biotechnology
company located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Plureon is seeking to develop therapeutic applications
of its platform technology, a pluripotent stem cell
obtained from amniotic fluid and placenta. These stem
cells are obtained without harm to mother or child from
biological material otherwise discarded as medical
waste. This technology was published in the January 2007
issue of Nature Biotechnology. For more information,
please visit
http://www.plureon.com. |
