Sanbio Co., Ltd. and Juntendo University Reach Agreement on Joint Research into the Production of Pancreatic Beta Cells Using the Direct Reprogramming Method Developed by Juntendo University
January 24, 2020 at 01:00 am EST
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SanBio Co. Ltd. and Juntendo University have reached an agreement on joint research into the production of pancreatic beta cells using the direct reprogramming method developed by Juntendo University. Type 1 diabetes is a potentially life-threatening autoimmune disease characterized by the destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells, and people with type 1 diabetes require lifelong treatment with insulin. Globally, around 5% of all diabetes patients are type 1 diabetes, and while the disease is most common in younger people it occurs across a wide range of age groups. In 2017, there are about 80,000 patients suffering from type 1 diabetes. Through this joint research agreement, SanBio and Juntendo University seek to develop a regenerative medicine product for the treatment of type 1 diabetes by producing pancreatic beta cells from mesenchymal stem cells using the direct reprogramming of somatic cells, a method developed by Diagnostics and Therapeutics of Intractable Diseases, Intractable Disease Research Center, Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University (Professor Yasushi Okazaki, Visiting Associate Professor Masahito Matsumoto). The two parties aim to collect the data necessary to proceed to clinical trials by combining the SanBio's expertise in regenerative medicine accumulated in the process of SB623 development with Juntendo University's discovery of direct reprogramming of somatic cells, and evaluating efficacy and safety in an animal model for type 1 diabetes.
SanBio Co Ltd is engaged in the regenerative cell business using allogeneic stem cells. The Company has the research and development base in the United States and conducts research, development, manufacture and sale of regenerative cell medicines in Japan. The Company aims to sell therapeutic agents for diseases with high unmet medical needs, mainly in diseases of the central nervous system. It is involved in the manufacture, development, non-clinical studies, clinical trials of technologies introduced from research institutes such as universities. The Company has five regenerative cell drugs, including the main product candidate SB623 (nerve regenerative cells), SB618 (function-enhancing type & Mesenchymal stem cells), SB308 (muscle stem cells), MSC1 (mesenchymal stem cells), and MSC2 (mesenchymal stem cells).
Sanbio Co., Ltd. and Juntendo University Reach Agreement on Joint Research into the Production of Pancreatic Beta Cells Using the Direct Reprogramming Method Developed by Juntendo University