On June 18th, Medicon Valley Alliance R&D Network one web-based seminar which aims to spread knowledge about ongoing R&D efforts in type 1 diabetes in the Öresund region, as well as the connection to advancements in other autoimmune diseases.
A bi-national life science cluster
There have always been strong ties between the pharmaceutical industry in southern Sweden and eastern Denmark, based on long-standing academic traditions, an innovative hospital sector and a successful life science industry on both sides of the strait. When the Öresund Bridge opened almost 20 years ago, the final piece of the necessary infrastructure fell into place to fully integrate the two areas. This became the starting point of the Medicon Valley region, which would strengthen the international competitiveness of both sides.
Medicon Valley Alliance (MVA) is a non-profit member-run organization whose ambition is to contribute to realizing the full potential of the Danish-Swedish life science cluster under the slogan that Medicon Valley as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The idea is to achieve this goal by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and services.
R&D Network hosts diabetes webinar
MVA's R&D Network was formed to bring together C-level industry R&D leaders (CSOs, CMOs, VPs), university professors – who are often Principal Investigators (PIs) in clinical trials – and those in leadership positions in the healthcare sector. The network aims to share practices and experiences, create a platform for discussions on current challenges for industry-academia collaboration, and commercialization of innovations in the Medicon Valley region.
The ambition of the upcoming diabetes webinar, Connecting the R&D of auto-immune disease therapies – starting from the type 1 diabetes perspective, is to highlight the internationally recognized expertise in the areas of screening, genetics and immunology in type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases that exist within the region. It also wants to spread knowledge about ongoing projects aimed at improving diabetes care.
World-leading diabetes expert
The program includes representatives from MVA, Novo Nordisk Foundation and Lunds universityThe university's case will be brought by Ake Lernmark, Senior Professor at the Diabetes and Celiac Disease Unit and an experienced PI for clinical diabetes studies. He has also led research groups at Hagedorn Research Laboratory, University of Washington and Karolinska Institutet.
Lernmark's research has primarily aimed to develop better tools for predicting and preventing autoimmune type 1 diabetes. He has received grants from American National Institute of Health (NIH), Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and Helmsley Trust, as well as of The Swedish Research Council and Diabetes FoundationLernmark is ranked among the top ten type 1 diabetes experts in the world.
Follicum to showcase R&D capacity
Professor Lernmark is part of the peptide company, along with a number of well-respected international researchers in diabetes. Follicums scientific advice. Follicum will also be part of the program at the MVA R&D Network's diabetes webinars and, together with Zealand Pharma, stand to demonstrate R&D advancements in diabetes at Medicon Valley. Follicum is running a preclinical diabetes project with the goal of improving blood sugar control compared to current treatments, thereby reducing the risk of serious diabetes complications.
Ex vivo-data have shown that Follicum's peptides have the ability to induce insulin secretion in the islets of Langerhans in human donated tissue. This results in a capacity to release insulin in line with existing GLP-1 analogues, which are widely used in today's diabetes care. With further ongoing studies, Follicum wants to consolidate the therapeutic value of its FOL peptides with regard to various diabetic complications but also investigate whether the peptides can be used in type-1 diabetes, which early data suggests is possible.
Follicum's CEO comments
BioStock has spoken with Follicum's CEO Jan Alenfall about MVA in general, the type 1 diabetes webinar in particular, and the company's diabetes project.
Given that you will be participating in the MVA webinar, one can assume that Follicum is a member of MVA. If so, why did Follicum choose to join the organization and what role do you think it plays in the region?
– Yes, we are members of MVA. It is a good network for us and offers many good activities such as seminars and good opportunities for important contacts. For smaller companies, MVA is an important local organization with a large global network.
Why are you participating in this MVA R&D Network seminar to discuss the region's progress in the treatment of type 1 diabetes?
– We have been active in diabetes research for several years, especially in the area of type 2 diabetes. However, through our research we have also obtained interesting data that may be important for type 1 diabetics in collaboration with Professor Åke Lernmark. Professor Lernmark has also given us valuable advice in our work.
– We naturally want to contribute these results and discuss how they can be used in the best way to potentially enable new treatments for patients with type 1 diabetes. The seminar is also a good opportunity to make important contacts for the further development of our diabetes project.
»Follicum's goal is to offer effective treatment to diabetes patients, especially those patients who have suffered complications, whether due to type 1 or type 2 diabetes.« – Jan Alenfall, CEO Follicum
What do you plan to talk about during your webinar session?
– Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time, but I will focus on our interesting experimental results and present them in light of the need for new therapies for type 1 diabetics. If our results can lead to a possible treatment in the future, that is obviously important.
You mention that you have been primarily active in type 2 diabetes, while the MVA seminar concerns type 1 diabetes. What type of diabetes is your diabetes project actually focused on?
– Follicum's goal is to offer an effective treatment to diabetes patients, especially those patients who have suffered complications, whether due to type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The largest market is type 2 diabetes, but many type 1 patients also suffer from serious complications. Our early research also shows positive effects in type 1 diabetes models, which we will present.
Can you give us a brief status update on how your diabetes project is progressing and if/how it is being affected by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic?
– Our diabetes project has not been affected to any great extent by the pandemic. The project is in the early preclinical phase and we have not had to interrupt any part of the studies that are underway. Parts of the diabetes project are being run within the Eurostars project that we have established with several German partners and it is also running completely according to the original plan.
What milestones do you expect to reach with the diabetes project in the foreseeable future?
– We are working intensively to document the effects of the peptides in several different systems, both overall in experimental disease models but also to map the mechanism of action and how the peptides work in human material. A good understanding of the mechanism of action will facilitate future work, both in terms of effect parameters, but also safety issues.
– It is also important to demonstrate at an early stage that our peptides have beneficial effects not only in animal models but also in human cells. We hope to be able to present interesting data in relevant models that further support the peptides' unique effects on diabetes-related complications.
You can find more information about the webinar here. here.
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