SAN DIEGO, Oct 18, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- MicroIslet, Inc. (MII, Trade), a biotechnology company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of patented technologies in transplantation therapy for people with insulin-dependent diabetes, today commented on the recently announced National Institutes of Health (NIH) long-term plan to combat type 1 diabetes. The plan contains a number of objectives, one of which is developing cell replacement therapy. The NIH identified four remaining barriers to islet transplantation, all four of which "are closely aligned with MicroIslet's therapeutic strategy," according to James R. Gavin III, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of MicroIslet.
Dr. Gavin commented, "We were pleased to see the recent long-term NIH plan to combat type 1 diabetes, especially the objective to develop cell replacement therapy. We noted with interest that the four major remaining barriers to islet transplantation identified by the NIH are: 1) developing methods to produce an unlimited supply of islets, 2) improving ways to harvest islets, 3) reducing the complications of islet transplantation, and 4) testing ways to prevent recurrent autoimmunity and the immune rejection of donor islets."
Dr. Gavin commented on each of these barriers identified in the NIH plan: "On the first point, we are the only entity we are aware of that has access to a robust supply of insulin-producing islets, through an exclusive porcine islet supply agreement with the Mayo Foundation. On the second point, we continue to optimize our islet harvesting techniques. Third, our implantation procedure is minimally invasive. And on the fourth point, we believe that our recently reported six-month primate data lends support to the efficacy of our islet microencapsulation strategy as an alternative to long-term immunosuppressive drug regimens." An NIH press release outlining its long-term type 1 diabetes plan can be found online at
Plan Will Guide NIH Research in Type 1 Diabetes, October 11, 2006 News Release - National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Dr. Gavin concluded, "Other recent press we have seen on islet transplantation has focused on harvesting islets from cadavers and on immune-suppressing drug regimens to prevent rejection of the transplanted islets. Relying on cadaveric islets results in chronically insufficient supply to meet the growing need for better diabetes treatment. Most of the islet protection provided by our approach is through our proprietary microencapsulation techniques, minimizing the need for administration of immunosuppressant drugs, which are generally used only at the outset of treatment. We believe that encapsulating islets to prevent rejection in the longer term, as supported by our recently reported six-month primate study data, is a more sustainable approach than long-term immunosuppression."
Dr. Gavin will make a presentation on the company's therapeutic approach at Urchin Capital Partners' "Value Below the Radar 2006" institutional investor conference on Tuesday, October 24 at Le Meridien Hotel in San Francisco.
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