JDRF to Support ViaCyte's Development of Innovative Encapsulated Beta Cell

[Northerner]

JDRF announced today its support of a pioneering diabetes research program that is developing a first-of-its-kind cell therapy for type 1 diabetes (T1D) and other forms of insulin-dependent diabetes. The therapy is a combination product that packages immature cells made from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) that over time develop into mature pancreatic hormone producing cells (pro-islet) including insulin-producing cells. The research is an important step toward producing an unlimited source of insulin-producing cells that could serve as replacements for those destroyed in both T1D and insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes. The diabetes program is being funded by JDRF, the largest charitable funder of T1D research in the world, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), and ViaCyte, a San Diego, California-based biotechnology company focused on diabetes.

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