Our Approach:
Xenotransplantation & Microencapsulation

The effectiveness of islet transplantation has been demonstrated in principle by the Edmonton protocol, but it faces two major obstacles which prevent it from being used on a larger scale: 1) the need for immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection and, 2) a severe shortage of human donor tissue.

MicroIslet's approach could overcome both of these obstacles, allowing transplantation to become the treatment of choice for insulin-dependent diabetics. The company's approach is based on the technologies of xenotransplantation and microencapsulation.

Xenotransplantation — specifically, the use of porcine islet cells — provides an essentially unlimited supply of cells for transplantation. Pig cells are an established source for human therapeutics including insulin and heart valves and the FDA has drafted guidelines for the development, manufacture and evaluation of xenotransplantation-based products.

Microencapsulation involves the surrounding of islet cells with a highly biocompatible biopolymer called alginate, which reduces the host's immune response to the implanted material. MicroIslet uses highly purified alginate for the microencapsulation process, which is thought to reduce the chance of inflammation.

MicroIslet is in the process of developing its first product — microencapsulated porcine islets for injection into the abdominal cavity. MicroIslet's technologies are being developed to optimize islet survival and functionality during the manufacturing process. We believe our approach is more advanced than current methods, which reduce islet viability 1) directly after harvest from donor animals, 2) during cryopreservation, storage and transportation, and 3) during the surgical procedure.

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