PolyNovo (ASX:PNV) has announced that Professor Toby Coates AO, the director of Beta Cell Technologies, has presented the results of the company's NovoSorb and its potential role in treating and managing Type 1 diabetes.
In the proof-of-concept study, Professor Coates reported survival and function of human pancreatic islets transplanted into an alternative neovascularised site within the skin using Novosorb BTM to create a cell-supporting vascular bed. The trial involved three participants with long-standing Type 1 diabetes who received islet cells after a kidney transplant.
Professor Coates said, “Our results are the culmination of the past 10 years of research and development using the NovoSorb technology and islet cells in rats and pigs and now in a 'first in human study'. For the first time, we report both 3-year survival and function of human pancreatic islets transplanted within the NovoSorb BTM site outside of the liver. The results show an exciting new opportunity for the NovoSorb technology in cell therapies as a delivery vehicle.”
A current standard of care to treat Type 1 diabetes is to transplant human islet cells into the liver. However, researchers report that 75 per cent of cells are lost in the first 48 hours.
Professor Coates said, “The problem with this treatment is that the transplant site cannot be easily biopsied and the islet cells can’t be monitored or retrieved so it is difficult to detect and remedy islet rejection.”
Professor Coates continued, “PolyNovo’s NovoSorb has some unique properties such as its ability to create a vascular bed capable of supporting the cells and, as the islet grafts are held within the NovoSorb matrix, the cells can be easily located and monitored in vivo. Additionally, the NovoSorb matrix properties enable the use of topical immune suppression which could be potentially ‘topped up’ easily if needed," adding, “This week we passed the third anniversary of the first human implant and remarkably the T1D patient’s sugar level has remained within a normal range at 5mmol/L with no requirement to top up cells over the journey.”
PolyNovo chairman David Williams said, “I have been closely following the research undertaken by Beta Cell at the invitation of Professors Coates and Greenwood (who was instrumental in the invention of NovoSorb BTM) for the last three years. These are very exciting results, and a redletter day potentially creating a new and distinct silo for the PolyNovo business; one in Wound Care and related uses, and another in Cell Delivery.”
Professor Greenwood, who conceived NovoSorb BTM, said that, “When I was developing the BTM, I always had a vision that the BTM platform, if successful in burns and wound care, would have the capability to be used in other cell areas. The results of our trials confirms that the NovoSorb technology has the potential to be a game changer in the cell therapy space. As a bonus, we think because BTM and the cells are both approved, there are fewer regulatory hurdles.”