JDRF partners with Plureon to explore generating insulin-producing
cells from adult stem cells
NEW YORK, February 4, 2008 – 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.
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.
Public release date: 4-Feb-2008
Contact: Susan Sherman
ssherman@jdrf.
212-479-7510
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
http://www.eurekale
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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