8 October 2009: Sydney, Australia, Auckland, New Zealand – Living Cell Technologies Limited (ASX: LCT; OTCQX: LVCLY) is to present at the forthcoming meeting of the International Pancreas And Islet Transplantation Association and International Xenotransplantation Congress (IPITA-IXA) in Venice on 16 October 2009.
Professor Bob Elliott, Medical Director of LCT, has been invited to speak on LCT’s experience with issues related to the regulatory process to gain approval to conduct a clinical trial using porcine cells for the treatment of diabetes.
LCT’s trial of encapsulated porcine pancreatic islets implants for insulin dependent diabetes has started in New Zealand following approval from the New Zealand Minister of Health and international peer review of the company’s DIABECELL® clinical programme. LCT is presently the only group in the world conducting human clinical trials with porcine cells.
Professor Elliott is scheduled to speak on “The application for clinical trial of xenotransplantation to the health authorities” in a session on “Guidelines for Clinical Trials” at the IPITA-IXA Congress on 16 October 2009 held at 2 pm at the Venice Lido Congress Center, Venice, Italy.
DIABECELL® is designed to normalize blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes sufferers. DIABECELL® comprises encapsulated porcine insulin-producing cells which can be administered without the need to use immunosuppressive drugs.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body’s own immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas (called beta cells). Five to 10 percent of the more than 200 million diabetics worldwide have insulin dependent type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is associated with kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, life-threatening cardiovascular disease and limb amputations. Current treatment options include multiple daily injections of insulin.
About Living Cell Technologies: www.lctglobal.com
Living Cell Technologies (LCT) is developing cell-based products to treat life threatening human diseases. The Company owns a biocertified pig herd that it uses as a source of cells for treating diabetes and neurological disorders. For patients with Type 1 diabetes, the Company transplants microencapsulated islet cells so that near-normal blood glucose levels may be achieved without the need for administration of insulin or at significantly reduced levels. The Company entered clinical trials for its diabetes product in 2007. For the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders, the company transplants microencapsulated choroid plexus cells that deliver beneficial proteins and neurotrophic factors to the brain. LCT’s technology enables healthy living cells to be injected into patients to replace or repair damaged tissue without requiring the use of immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection. LCT also offers medical-grade porcine-derived products for the repair and replacement of damaged tissues, as well as for research and other purposes.
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