Strasbourg, FRANCE, April 2018 :
Medical device developer Defymed announced today the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Israeli biotechnology company Kadimastem, to evaluate the integration of the companies’ technologies for the treatment of diabetes.
Defymed is an SME that develops implantable medical devices for diverse therapeutic applications. In the diabetes field, Defymed had developed MailPan®, a Bio-Artificial Pancreas device designed, using suitable cells, to treat diabetes in patients without immunosuppression. In parallel with the development of cell-based therapy for the treatment of ALS, in which Kadimastem is currently commencing its first clinical trial in humans, it is also developing an innovative cell-based therapy for diabetes, by producing islet-of-Langerhans-like cells capable of producing and releasing insulin according to blood sugar levels.
The companies intend to conduct a proof of concept pre-clinical test using Defymed’s MailPan® and Kadimastem’s islet-of-Langerhans-like cell clusters and evaluate the efficacy of the combination in treating diabetes.
Yossi Ben-Yossef, Kadimastem’s CEO, noted: “We are constantly operating to locate and identify innovative technologies to integrate in the company’s product for the treatment of diabetes and to complement it. Preliminary evaluations by our research team found Defymed to potentially have a complementary solution for the cell-based product we are developing for diabetes treatment. Should the collaboration result in a proof of concept and a positive outcome, the company’s product for diabetes treatment may constitute a turning point in currently available therapies and offer patients a fitting alternative, capable of significantly improving the quality of life for millions of diabetes patients worldwide.”
Séverine Sigrist, Defymed’s CEO and CSO, said: “Since Defymed’s foundation, we always favored open innovation for the development of our medical devices. Moreover, Defymed’s strategy is to position MailPan® as a platform to test several types of insulin-secreting cells in order to go further with the best combination. As Kadimastem’s cells are very promising, we are looking forward to the first results of our partnership. ”
For more info, please check the related Press Release (in French).