Diabecell Research Closes Out (With Comments on Encapsulation In General)

Diabecell is an encapsulated pig beta cell treatment aimed at curing type-1 diabetes.  This research started in the 1990s, and was part of a group of encapsulated stem cell cures which were developed at the same time by different companies/research groups.  Most of the others ended in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but LCT continued and is still operating today.  I've blogged many times on this research: https://cureresearch4type1diabetes.blogspot.com/search/label/LCT

The last two running studies on Diabecell were marked as "completed" in October 2017.  The most recent clinical trial started in 2011, and published some results in 2016, but they were not strong.  Since it has been two years since their last results, and they have not started a new trial in that time, and also because the results of their trials have been lack-luster for years before that, I'm going to drop them from active coverage here.

Discussion

This should serve as a cautionary tale for all encapsulated beta cell cure research.  There were at least 4 companies trying to cure type-1 diabetes this way in the 1990s, and it looks like all of those were unsuccessful.  There was another crop of these in the 2000s, and most of those have been unsuccessful as well.  (Although Viacyte, founded in 1999 as Novocell, is still in active development and may yet cure type-1 diabetes.)  More recently, in the 2010s there has been another batch of start ups in this area (Dr. Melton's Semma Therapeutics, Beta-O2 Technologies, etc.), and also an even larger batch of new academic research (such as recently reported at Cornell, UCSF, etc.)

I'm positive about all this research. I'm positive about all research aimed at curing type-1 diabetes. I hope it all works. I hope any of it works (because it only takes one cure). However, I do think it is important not to get to overly excited about encapsulated beta cell research (even as it sounds straight forward), because it's obviously more complex than it sounds.

Especially, it is clear to me that the hard part is the encapsulation part, not the beta cell part.  The pig beta cells used by LCT generate the insulin that people with type-1 diabetes injected for decades (from the 1920s to the 1970s).  Those cells work just fine, so LCT's problems are encapsulation.  Other companies have used human beta cells from cadavers.  Those cells worked just fine for their previous owners, which reinforces my belief that the breakthrough that makes encapsulated beta cells successful is going to be on the encapsulation side, not the beta cell sourcing side.

Recent Clinical Trial Records:
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http://ift.tt/2DnFj9G
http://ift.tt/2DWSBen

Academic encapsulation research in the news:
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http://ift.tt/2DVwOnf


Joshua Levy
http://ift.tt/29DuN3o
publicjoshualevy at gmail dot com
All the views expressed here are those of Joshua Levy, and nothing here is official JDRF or JDCA news, views, policies or opinions. My daughter has type-1 diabetes and participates in clinical trials, which might be discussed here. My blog contains a more complete non-conflict of interest statement. Thanks to everyone who helps with the blog.


via Cure Research