Sernova Receives US FDA IND Allowance to Initiate a US Clinical Trial of its Cell Pouch for the Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes
December 11 2017 - 7:56AM
InvestorsHub NewsWire
London,
Ontario -- Monday December 11, 2017 -- InvestorsHub NewsWire --
Sernova Corp. (TSX-V: SVA) (OTCQB: SEOVF) (FSE: PSH), a
clinical stage company developing regenerative medicine
technologies for the long-term treatment of diseases including
diabetes and hemophilia, is pleased to announce it has received US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notice of allowance for its IND
for a new human clinical trial with the Cell Pouch System (TM)
(CPS) in the United States. The
Company will host a conference call for shareholders with Dr.
Philip Toleikis, President and CEO on Monday, December 11th at
10:00am Eastern Standard Time to discuss the
trial.
Sernova plans to
initiate the new clinical trial under this US IND to investigate
the Cell Pouch for treatment of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in
individuals with hypoglycemia unawareness. The trial is a Phase
I/II prospective single arm study of islets transplanted into the
subcutaneously implanted Cell Pouch. The primary objective of the
study is to demonstrate safety and tolerability of islet
transplantation into the Cell Pouch and the secondary objective is
to assess efficacy through a series of defined measures.
JDRF has
previously committed to provide Sernova up to $2.45 million USD to
support the clinical trial.
“Hypoglycemia unawareness is a
serious consequence of type 1 diabetes,” said Derek Rapp, President
& CEO, JDRF International. “We are excited to see progress in
this and other potentially life-saving JDRF-funded research, which
could help prevent people with hypoglycemia unawareness from
experiencing dangerous lows, as we strive to achieve our vision of
a world without T1D.”
“We are extremely
enthusiastic about the promise of Sernova’s regenerative medicine
platform to provide a new therapeutic option for diabetes patients
with hypoglycemia unawareness. We believe Sernova’s multiple
advancing cell based therapies have the potential to deliver
significant improvement in the quality of life of patients
suffering from diabetes and other debilitating diseases,” said Dr.
Philip Toleikis, Sernova’s president & CEO.
About the
Trial
The study is a Phase I/II
single site, single arm, Company sponsored trial. Following
approval by the Institutional Review Board, patients with
hypoglycemia unawareness will be enrolled into the study under
informed consent. Patients will then be implanted with the Cell
Pouch including sentinel devices. Following vascularized
tissue development, a dose of purified islets under strict release
criteria will be transplanted into the Cell Pouch and patients
followed for safety and efficacy measures for approximately six
months. At this point a decision will be made whether to transplant
a second islet dose with subsequent safety and efficacy follow up.
Patients will then be further followed for one
year.
“Sernova’s FDA clearance to
commence human clinical trials in the United States is an exciting
step forward in diabetes research, initially focused to reduce the
risk of hypoglycemia unawareness, a complication in which a patient
is unaware of a deep drop in blood sugar that can have life
threatening consequences,” said Dave Prowten, President and CEO of
JDRF Canada. “This is also an example of the international
collaboration fostered by JDRF-funded projects to accelerate
transformative research to benefit the T1D community,” added Mr.
Prowten.
About Sernova’s Cell
Pouch
The Cell Pouch is a novel,
proprietary, scalable, implantable macroencapsulation device for
the long-term survival and function of therapeutic cells (donor,
stem cell derived cells and xenogeneic cells)
which then
release proteins and/or hormones as required to treat
disease. The device is designed upon
implantation to incorporate with tissue, forming highly
vascularized tissue chambers for the transplantation and function
of therapeutic cells. The device with therapeutic cells has been
shown to provide long term safety and efficacy in small and large
animal models of diabetes and has been proven to provide a
biologically compatible environment for insulin producing cells in
humans.
About
Diabetes
T1D is a
life-threatening disease in which the body's immune system
mistakenly attacks and kills the pancreatic cells that produce
insulin—a hormone that is essential for life because of its role to
help the body use glucose. The existing standard of care
for patients with TID is suboptimal.
To date, there is no cure for
T1D, and people living with the disease are dependent on exogenous
insulin therapy to help keep their
blood-sugar levels from spiking too high, which can lead to
long-term complications such as kidney and heart diseases or an
acute, potentially deadly health crisis. Present-day insulin
therapy is, however, an imperfect treatment method that requires
people with T1D to carefully monitor their blood sugar throughout
the day and take multiple, calculated doses of insulin based on
food intake, exercise, stress, illness and other factors. A
miscalculation or unexpected variable leading to high or low blood
sugar episodes are daily threats, and only a third of people with T1D achieve their
long-term blood glucose targets, placing them at risk for
T1D-related health complications.
Conference Call
Details
To participate in this live
conference call, please dial + 1-877-858-5743
prior to the scheduled
conference call time. International callers should
dial +1-858-609-8959.
The conference participant pass code is 355
040. Following the conference
call a recording will be available at www.sernova.com
About
Sernova Corp
Sernova Corp is
developing disruptive regenerative medical technologies using a
medical device and immune protected therapeutic cells to improve
the treatment and quality of life of people with chronic metabolic
diseases such as insulin-dependent diabetes, blood disorders
including hemophilia, and other diseases treated through
replacement of proteins or hormones missing or in short supply
within the body. For more information, please visit
www.sernova.com
About JDRF
JDRF is the
leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research.
Our mission is to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure,
prevent and treat T1D and its complications. To accomplish this,
JDRF has invested nearly $2 billion in research funding since our
inception. We are an organization built on a grassroots model of
people connecting in their local communities, collaborating
regionally for efficiency and broader fundraising impact, and
uniting on a national stage to pool resources, passion, and energy.
We collaborate with academic institutions, policymakers, and
corporate and industry partners to develop and deliver a pipeline
of innovative therapies to people living with T1D. Our staff and
volunteers throughout the United States and our six international
affiliates are dedicated to advocacy, community engagement and our
vision of a world without T1D. For more information, please visit
jdrf.org or follow us on Twitter: @JDRF
For further information
contact:
Philip Toleikis, Ph.D., President
and CEO
Tel: (604) 961-2939
philip.toleikis@sernova.com
www.sernova.com
Ray Matthews & Associates
Tel: (604) 818-7778
www.raymatthews.ca
ray@raymatthews.ca
Forward Looking Information This release may contain
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not
always, identified by the words “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”,
“believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “projects”, “potential” and
similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will”, “would”,
“may”, “could” or “should” occur. Although Sernova believes the
expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based
on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of
future performance and actual results may differ materially from
those in forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements,
are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of Sernova’s
management on the date such statements were made, which include our
belief about the conduct and outcome of clinical trials and that
Sernova will be able to raise additional capital to fund its
clinical programs including its planned US FDA clinical trial.
Sernova expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update
or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
Sernova (QB) (USOTC:SEOVF)
Historical Stock Chart
From Oct 2024 to Nov 2024
Sernova (QB) (USOTC:SEOVF)
Historical Stock Chart
From Nov 2023 to Nov 2024