A new research funding agreement between the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and Sernova, a clinical-stage regenerative medicine biotech, aims to address people with severe type 1 diabetes (T1D) who are hypoglycemia unaware, a condition in which a person with diabetes does not experience the usual early warning symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) following an insulin injection.
The purpose of the funding is to advance human clinical trials of Sernova’s novel cell macroencapsulated implantable and scalable Cell Pouch System (CPS) with the hope to improve the quality of life and overall outcomes for these patients.
People with diabetes who have hypoglycemia unawareness are at a higher risk of acute life threatening consequences that can lead to coma and death following an insulin injection that reduces blood glucose to dangerously low levels.
JDRF will provide Sernova $2.45 million USD to support a clinical trial at a major transplantation center in the United States. “JDRF has previously provided funding to advance the development of Sernova’s technologies through a preclinical collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital, and we are proud to continue our support as Sernova’s technologies progress into new safety and efficacy clinical trials,” said Derek Rapp, JDRF president and CEO.
“Sernova and JDRF are tightly aligned in our vision to see cell-based therapies developed to reduce disease burden and significantly increase the quality of life for people living with T1D,” said Sernova president and CEO Dr. Philip Toleikis.