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Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is a chronic, life-threatening disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In the United States, 30,000 new cases are estimated every year with half of those cases diagnosed in young children. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the patient`s immune system goes awry and attacks and destroys the pancreatic beta cells. Beta cells are responsible for regulating blood sugar (glucose) levels by producing precise amounts of the essential hormone insulin. The discovery of injectable insulin in the 1920s changed T1D from a uniformly fatal disease with a life expectancy of months to one that could be carefully managed for decades through multiple daily blood glucose measurements and insulin injections. However, insulin injections are not a cure and patients face a lifetime of difficult disease management and serious complications including kidney failure, blindness and nerve damage. Despite nearly a century passing since the discovery of insulin, insulin injection remains the only treatment available to patients. Semma Therapeutics was founded to develop transformative therapies for patients who currently depend on insulin injections. Recent work in the laboratory of Professor Douglas Melton led to the discovery of a method to generate billions of functional, insulin-producing beta cells in the laboratory. These cells develop in islet-like clusters grown from stem cells. Initial preclinical work in animal models of diabetes has shown that transplantation of these cells are sufficient to control blood glucose levels. This breakthrough technology has been exclusively licensed to Semma Therapeutics for the development of a cell-based therapy for diabetes. Ongoing research at Semma Therapeutics is focused on combining these proprietary cells with a state-of-the-art cell delivery and immune protection strategy that can protect these cells from the patient`s immune system and allow the beta cells to function as they do in non-diabetic individuals. Implantation of the beta cell-filled device has the potential to provide a true replacement for the missing beta cells in a diabetic patient and would not require patient immunosuppression. Semma Therapeutics is working to bring this new therapeutic option to the clinic and improve the lives of patients with diabetes.
Oncorus, Inc. is a lean early-stage biotechnology company developing a next-generation immunotherapy platform to treat cancer. Oncorus was founded by well-known biotechnology entrepreneurs and is backed by MPM Capital. Oncorus is a leader in corporate philanthropy, and has taken a pledge to donate a portion of product sales to fund promising cancer research and to support cancer care in the developing world. We are located in Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA.
Imago BioSciences is translating true scientific insights into transformative treatments allowing patients to live longer, disease-free lives.
For thousands of years, people have discovered medicines from fungi by brewery. This approach has led to transformative medicines that saved millions of lives and have altered the course of medical history. Drug discovery by brewery proved to be difficult and time-consuming, leaving the field in search of a disruptive technological solution. Our genomically-enabled drug discovery engine is precisely that solution, dramatically accelerating the search for nature’s breakthrough drugs. At LifeMine, genomicists, bioinformaticians and microbiologists identify new evolutionary solutions for disease intervention; natural products chemists access the natural molecules that inspire our drug discovery efforts; biologist and chemist drug hunters craft these into disruptively innovative medicines, and translational medical scientists bring the life-saving solutions forward into patients in need.
Affinor Growers are excited to bring you fresh, non-GMO, delicious food grown in pristine environments without pesticides or chemicals. We are building facilities to grow dark, leafy green vegetables such as Spinach and Lettuce with near zero-water waste. We are an industry leader growing water-fed, nutrient rich strawberries. Affinor will grow in a safe, secure environment with focus on analytical results. Our scientists are always exploring new ways to produce high quality, premium medical marihuana strains and plants for medicinal purposes. Patients will appreciate the pain relieving quality and safety of our trusted products.