Possible Cures for Type-1 Diabetes in the News (October)

Living Cell Technologies Starts Phase-I Study in New Zealand

LCT is developing an encapsulated pig cell cure for type-1 diabetes. They have completed a phase-I study in Russia which resulted in one patient being off insulin for a few months, and another for a few weeks. They finally got approval from the New Zealand government, and have now treated their first patient. This clinical trial is very similar to the one they completed in Russia, but half the patients will get twice the dose that the Russians started with, and the second half will start out with three times the dose. Eight people total. This trial is scheduled to complete in January 2011.

Commentary
This research has already shown that their encapsulated cells can have good effect for short periods of time. The big question they need to answer are these:
1. Will larger doses of encapsulated cells results in less need for injected insulin?
2. How long will the encapsulated cells continue to work?
This trial will directly address question 1. By using higher doses, they will see if they get more generated insulin, and a higher percentage of people who are off insulin entirely. Unfortunately, question 2 can only be answered by time. By following the patients from the Russian trial and from this new trial for a year or two. Although it may be that they'll learn more about duration by starting with a higher dose.

Another issue for me is this: is this a phase-I study or a phase-II study? That's a big difference because a phase-II study moves them closer to general availability, while a second phase-I study doesn't. Officially the study is "Phase-I / Phase-II". It's size is 8 people, and that's on the small size of phase-I. However, it's goal is to try different doses, and that's a phase-II type of goal. (Phase-I is more focused on basic safety.) The real measure is how the US FDA views it, and I don't know the answer to that question.

Sources
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00940173
http://www.lctglobal.com/downloads/cms_latest_news/2009-10-06-LCT%20NZ%20Implant%207%20Oct%2009%20.pdf
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10601771

LCT also issued their yearly report
which is here:
http://www.lct.com.au/downloads/cms_latest_news/2009-10-19-LCT%20Annual%20Report%202009.pdf

There are a couple of pieces of meaty news buried in this report.
On page 10 there is a list of KEY TARGETS. Nothing about any US trials, but (in addition to finishing their current trials) they list these two items:

• Commence pivotal trial in Russia.
• Commence DIABECELL® commercialisation [sic] – initially in Russian market.

And that makes it sound like whatever they are doing, they are going to do it in Russia first. They have a wholly owned subsidiary there, already.
Their clinical trials are described on pages 14 and 15.

Osiris Therapeutics Announces Preliminary Results For Prochymal Phase III GvHD and COPD Trials

Osiris is running two phase-III trials for their Prochymal treatment, for diseases other than type-1 diabetes. Both of these results are in and both were failures. They have several separate phase-II trials going on, and one of these does target type-1 diabetes. So having all their phase-III studies fail is bad news, but what really matters is the results of their type-1 diabetes clinical trial. Those results are expected in mid-2010.

press release: http://www.bioresearchonline.com/article.mvc/Osiris-Therapeutics-Announces-Preliminary-Res-0001?VNETCOOKIE=NO
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00690066

Effects of Sitagliptin (Januvia) in Adult Patients With Type 1 Diabetes

This is a 20 person study which started in September and is expected to finish in December. It is trying a drug already in use for type-2 diabetics to see if it helps type-1 diabetics. This is aimed at helping type-1s use less insulin, not curing them. Based on my quick read of how this class of drugs works, I don't see why it's expected to work on type-1 diabetics. It helps the body create more insulin. I understand how that would help type-2s, but not type-1s. Anyway the proof is in the results, and we will not need to wait long. The research is being done at the Barbara Davis Center in Denver (which is top-of-the-line.) The good news is that we will have results very soon, and if they are positive, the drug is available right now.

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00978796
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitagliptin

Sernova's Animal Studies Continue

Sernova published results from some animal studies. You can read the links below for details. No date to start human trials was announced. This work is a follow on to Valdez's work in Mexico years ago, which was very controversial at the time it was done. He didn't do animal trials before going straight to people, and was eventually shut down by the Mexican government. It was also unclear if he was really getting as good results as he claimed. Sernova is trying to use the same ideas, but do the animal studies first, and then get Canadian or US FDA approval to do a clinical trial. So this treatment has been in clinical trials in the past, although not right now.

The basic trick was to get porcine beta cells, mix them with sertoli cells, and then implant the mix. Sertoli cells block the immune system, so the idea is that the immune system will not attack the new beta cells. So it's similar to encapsulated beta cells (LCT), but a little different.

http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=65911061
http://www.benzinga.com/press-releases/m26601/sernova-s-cell-pouch-system-tm-and-sertolin-tm-preclinical-efficacy-presented-