Biocrine’s CEO Professor PO Berggren was interviewed by NyTeknik, Swedish leading technology and IT newspaper. Treating diabetes with transplanted insulin-producing islets of Langerhans was the main subject of the discussion.
Transplantation into the eye is a novel method developed by Prof Berggren’s research group. So far, the procedure has been thoroughly tested in mice leading to recovery of the sick animals. The method is now being evaluated in monkeys by the Prof Berggren’s research groups in Miami and Korea and their collaborators.
Several other research groups and hospitals around the globe conduct clinical trials using another transplantation method. There, the islets are infused into the portal vein in liver. The islets are very sensitive to the changes in the environment. So for this method to be successful, up to four donors are needed to cure one diabetic patient. Biocrine aims to increase the chance of keeping the sensitive islets viable during the transplantations, so that the donations will cure more patients. The work is conducted in collaboration with Uppsala-based company Spiber Technologies.
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