Diabetes
Microencapsulation Technology Enables Islet Cell Transplant Successful without Long-Term Immune Suppression
By AmCyte Inc
Apr 20, 2005, 10:04

AmCyte Inc, a leader in encapsulated islet replacement and pancreatic adult stem cells, announced today the transplantation of the first Type 1 diabetic patient in North America to receive islets without long-term immune suppression.

The transplant took place on February 22nd at Toronto General Hospital. The patient experienced no complications during the minor 20-minute surgical infusion. The patient was released from hospital three days after the procedure and is resting at home.

The transplanted islets are protected from rejection by the patient's immune system with AmCyte's novel microencapsulation technology.

About the size of a pinhead, each clear gel bead contains multiple islets, and floats freely in the patient's abdominal cavity. The capsules are permeable so that nutrients and glucose can get to the islets, and secreted insulin from the islets can get out into the blood.

�At this point we are very happy that the patient is doing well,� said Oliver Foellmer, AmCyte's Director of Business Development. �The clinical trial represents a new generation of islet transplantation technology and is part of a multi-prong clinical trial strategy to bring a treatment for diabetes to the market.�

�We are excited to contribute this important step towards a treatment for diabetes without the health risks of immune suppression,� said Dr. Wen G. Tsang, Sr. VP R&D. �In conjunction with our Adult Stem Cell Regenerated Islet Program, we look forward to being able to address both the limitations of immune suppression and islet supply.�

Approved by Health Canada, the clinical study's primary endpoints are safety assessments of the procedure at 180 days with secondary endpoints looking at the function of the transplanted insulin producing islet cells. This study's conservative dose of islets may not be sufficient to fulfill the patient's insulin requirements. Future studies would address the issues of appropriate dosing of encapsulated islets.

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