5 Easy Pieces

More for JDRF IDDP Fans*

(*I may be the only civilian in the lower 48 states who is aware of, let alone could be ranked as an IDDP fan.)


IDDP I
SKG

SmithKlineGlaxo announced an agreement with JDRF IDDP partner Tolerx, to develop and commercialize a different anti-CD3 compound from the Lilly / MacroGenics. So the fact that the deep pockets are stepping up seems to indicate that there is reason to believe there is good news in these anti-CD3s.


IDDP II
SKG / Lilly press release

I am happy to see JDRF issue a press release about the SFG and Lilly deals with their IDDP partners:

IMHO This is press release a step on the way to transparency that can give those of us who support JDRF comfort in how the funds raised for JDRF are used.


IDDP III
Housey Pharmaceutical Research Laboratories

JDRF has entered a IDDP agreement with Housey Pharmaceutical Research Laboratories (HPRL) for research “aimed at identifying small molecule compounds to promote beta cell growth and survival.”

The press release at one point says the idea is to,”support the company's studies to identify compounds to promote the regeneration of functional pancreatic beta cells.”

Wohoo! That’s what I’m talking about!

Now when I Googled Housey I was somewhat concerned that their web page talked exclusively about T2. So I emailed JDRF. They explained that JDRF is interested in seeing technology developed for other things (like T2), that has promise for T1, look to the T1 uses as well as the large population of T2.

“That HPRL’s prior experience has not necessarily been with type 1 represents some success in another strategic aim of our Research group, that is, to persuade more top scientists to focus on research that benefits the type 1 community, even if it had not been on their radar screen previously. One of the issues we’ve had to deal with over the years is a relatively narrow range of researchers and research institutions that are involved with type 1 diabetes.”

Apparently it is no longer permissible to get top scientists to focus on research that benefits the type 1 by hittin’m up side the head with a 2x4 with a nail sticking out of it. So since the stick is out apparently a carrot is the next best thing. An IDDP agreement is a nice carrot.


IDDP IV
EpiVax, Inc

“EpiVax, Inc, a leader in the field of computational immunology, announced today that it has received funding from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the world's largest charitable funder of Type 1 diabetes research, to develop "Epi-13," a novel therapeutic for the prevention and treatment of type I diabetes, a devastating and chronic autoimmune disease that affects up to three million Americans today.”


IDDP V
Osiris Therapeutics

JDRF Partners with Osiris to evaluate an immunomodulatory cell therapy product for type 1 diabetes. JDRF will fund Osiris’ proof-of-concept trial of Prochymal™, a formulation of immunomodulatory adult bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells, in type 1 diabetes.. Prochymal™ is currently being evaluated by Osiris in Phase III trials for Graft-vs-Host Disease (GVHD) and Crohn’s Disease.

"immunomodulatory" is the even a real word? I guess I'll have to look that one up.


I think there is a lesson to be learned here. That is I should keep my big yap shut and not be asking JDRF questions. or they come out with a ton of press releases and I can't up date the blog fast enough to keep up. This post started out with a reference to three...