Lead program, iTOL-102, in development as a cure for Type 1 diabetes
Company pioneering regenerative medicine without immunosuppression to treat other diseases
MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / June 21, 2023 / iTolerance, Inc. ("iTolerance" or the "Company"), an early-stage regenerative medicine company developing technologies to enable tissue, organoid or cell therapy without the need for life-long immunosuppression, today announced it was selected by U.S. Representative David Schweikert (AZ-01) to participate as one of three companies in a Disruptive Healthcare Technology Showcase at the U.S. Capitol, which took place Monday, June 12, 2023.
At the event, members of the iTolerance management team introduced the Company's lead candidate, iTOL-102, in development as a cure for Type 1 diabetes to Members of Congress and their staffs. iTOL-102 combines allogenic insulin-producing stem cells with iTolerance's proprietary immunomodulator iTOL-100. The Company believes ITOL-100 will differentiate itself from other products by obviating the need for life-long immunosuppression.
Joining the iTolerance team for the event was Zoe Heineman, an independent patient advocate who has engaged in policy-changing discussions with legislators about unmet patient needs in diabetes, and testified in various settings, such as with Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, state houses of representatives and committee meetings.
"It is a great honor to have been selected by Congressman Schweikert as one of three companies with disruptive healthcare technologies to showcase at the U.S. Capitol. We need to be thinking beyond simply treating diseases and move forward with curative approaches as the next great leap in medical product innovation. I am proud to have had the opportunity to connect with our politicians to make them aware of potentially curative approaches to Type 1 diabetes through transplantation without immunosuppression," commented Dr. Anthony Japour, Chief Executive Officer of iTolerance.
Sumitra Ghate, Senior Vice President of Development & Global Regulatory Affairs of iTolerance stated, "Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition affecting more than one million adult patients in the United States and over eight million people worldwide. There continues to be exciting advancements across a number of development areas in the treatment of Type 1 diabetes, and we are pleased to receive recognition for what we believe is truly innovative and disruptive technology."
Zoe Heineman added, "As a person living with Type 1 diabetes since 1990 and an active patient advocate working to advance technologies towards a cure, I am encouraged by the innovative approach iTolerance is developing. We need a cure now, to save lives and reverse the U.S. spending $237 billion each year on direct medical costs, more than half of which is related to treating the complications of diabetes including stroke, heart disease, kidney failure, retina conditions and neuropathies1."
iTolerance's iTOL-100 immunomodulatory technology is a biotechnology-derived bio-synthetic form of the naturally occurring protein FasL, mixed with a biotin-PEG microgel that would allow convenient and effective co-administration with implanted cells or organoids to induce local immune tolerance without the need for life-long immunosuppression. This proprietary technology has broad applicability and can be applied to both allogenic and stem cell-derived organoids across a number of diseases.
In the iTOL-102 development program, insulin producing stem cell-derived pancreatic islets are combined with iTOL-100 and implanted in the body. These stem cell-derived pancreatic islets are potentially capable of secreting insulin in response to sugar intake, similar to how native pancreatic islet cells behave.
1https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/programs-impact/pop/diabetes
About iTolerance, Inc.
iTolerance is an early-stage privately held regenerative medicine company developing technologies to enable tissue, organoid or cell therapy without the need for life-long immunosuppression. Leveraging its proprietary biotechnology-derived Streptavidin-FasL fusion protein/biotin-PEG microgel (SA-FasL microgel) platform technology, iTOL-100, iTolerance is advancing a pipeline of programs using both allogenic pancreatic islets and stem cells that have the potential to cure diseases. The Company's lead program, iTOL-102, leverages significant advancements in stem cells to derive pancreatic islets which allows an inexhaustible supply of insulin-producing cells. Utilizing iTOL-100 to induce local immune tolerance, iTOL-102 has the potential to be a cure for Type 1 Diabetes without the need for life-long immunosuppression. Additionally, the Company is developing iTOL-201 for the treatment of liver failure by utilizing hepatocytes and iTOL-401 as a nanoparticle formulation for large organ transplants without the need for life-long immunosuppression. For more information, please visit itolerance.com.
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SOURCE: iTolerance, Inc.