McGill University Health Centre Announces Important Support for Advancing INGAP as a Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes
Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, a leading physician and scientist at MUHC sees his discovery, INGAP, building momentum in the lab and in the clinic for type 1 diabetes.
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) is pleased to announce that a significant donation from John and Pattie Cleghorn to the MUHC Foundation in support of the MUHC's Best Care for Life campaign will be used to advance research on a promising therapy for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes: Islet Neogenesis Associated Protein (INGAP). Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg is one of the discoverers of INGAP and a leading researcher in islet cell biology and neogenesis at the Research Institute of MUHC. "We are thankful to the Cleghorns for this important donation. It represents substantial support for continued basic research and clinical development of INGAP, and eventually for advancing this exciting therapy toward regulatory approval," stated Dr. Rosenberg. "We are very encouraged by on-going research and collaboration with Kinexum Metabolics, Inc, (KMI) to advance INGAP into a Phase 2 human study."
MUHC Discovery Breaking New Ground in Diabetes Therapy
Numerous studies conducted by Dr. Rosenberg's laboratory at the Research Institute of the MUHC, as well as at other leading research institutions, have shown that INGAP induces the growth of fully functioning pancreatic islet cells in animals. As a result of INGAP therapy, these animals are able to produce insulin and normalize blood sugar levels naturally, effectively curing the symptoms of diabetes. Dr. Rosenberg most recently found that INGAP can induce normal human pancreatic duct cells to differentiate into insulin-producing endocrine cells. This discovery will accelerate the understanding of islet biology and the development of additional islet regeneration therapies. Dr. Rosenberg's findings will be presented at an important Keystone conference in April.
INGAP Clinical Development Resumes in 2008
Results from the first Phase 2 clinical trials evaluating INGAP in patients with diabetes were presented as late breaking abstracts at the American Diabetes Association meeting in 2005 by Dr. Robert Ratner. Soon after, Kinexum Metabolics, Inc. licensed INGAP and has continued development under the guidance of Dr. G. Alexander Fleming, a well-known authority on metabolic drug development, who headed diabetes drug review at the FDA for over a decade. Dr. Fleming stated, "I was very impressed with the results from the three month INGAP trials that included 200 people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. INGAP treatment not only increased insulin secretion, but substantially improved glycemic control. These trial results give important clues for further improving efficacy. We are excited to be working on a therapy that could improve the lives of potentially all people with Type 1 diabetes as well as those with insulin dependent Type 2 diabetes." Kinexum Metabolics, Inc. recently completed work on a refined formulation and delivery regimen that will be tested in the next Phase 2 trial planned to start later this year - with McGill University Hospital Centre slated to the a trial center. The Cleghorn's gift has been essential in making this next step possible.
A Personal Connection Motivates Cleghorn's Gift
John and Pattie Cleghorn's interest in supporting diabetes research at the MUHC has a personal connection. Pattie herself is a diabetic, as is their young grandson. Once they were introduced to Dr. Rosenberg and his groundbreaking research, there was no question that they would support moving INGAP to further clinical trials. "We felt honored to have the chance to contribute to a discovery that might help diabetes become a thing of the past," said John Cleghorn. John Rae, Chairman of the MUHC's Best Care for Life campaign expressed his gratitude for the Cleghorn's gift, and emphasized the importance of private donors to the continued success of MUHC and its Research Institute: "People like John and Pattie Cleghorn represent the tangible difference that every one of us can make to the future of healthcare. The Best Care for Life campaign has already surpassed the half way point of its $300 million objective thanks to the vision of donors like the Cleghorns, and I hope that their gift will inspire others to give other to give their support to the unique innovations in patient care, teaching and research that take place every year at the McGill University Health Centre."
About McGill University Health Centre
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) is a comprehensive academic health institution with an international reputation for excellence in clinical programs, research and teaching. The MUHC is a merger of five teaching hospitals affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University - the Montreal Children's, Montreal General, Royal Victoria, and Montreal Neurological Hospitals, as well as the Montreal Chest Institute. Building on the tradition of medical leadership of the founding hospitals, the goal of MUHC is to provide patient care based on the most advanced knowledge in the health care field, and to contribute to the development of new knowledge. www.muhc.ca
The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC) is a world-wide renowned biomedical and health-care hospital research centre. Located in Montreal, Quebec, the institute is the research arm of the MUHC, a university health center affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University. The institute supports over 500 researchers, nearly 1,000 graduate and post-doctoral students and operates more than 300 laboratories devoted to a broad spectrum of fundamental and clinical research. The Research Institute operates at the forefront of knowledge, innovation and technology, and is inextricably linked to the clinical programs of the MUHC, ensuring that patients benefit directly from the latest research-based knowledge. For further details visit: www.muhc.ca/research
About the Best Care for Life campaign The $300 million Best Care for Life campaign, a partnership of the foundations of the McGill University Health Centre, is raising the philanthropic component of the funds needed to complete the MUHC's redevelopment project on the Glen and Mountain campuses. Under the direction of Chairman John Rae, the campaign has already raised more than half of its overall objective.
About Kinexum Metabolics, Inc.
Kinexum Metabolics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies for the treatment of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic conditions.