CureDM, Inc. Achieves Two Drug Discovery Milestones

Main Category: Diabetes
Also Included In: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials
Article Date: 23 Feb 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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CureDM, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company working to develop new therapies that prevent, ameliorate, or reverse diabetes, announces its achievement of two preclinical drug discovery milestones. "Meeting these milestones represents significant progress for CureDM," said Loraine V. Upham, CEO; "Not only does it trigger additional capital infusion from equity partners, but it also sets the stage for our upcoming pre-IND (pre-Investigational New Drug) meeting with the FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration)."

The first milestone was completion of pharmacokinetic studies of the CureDM Human proIslet Peptide (HIP) in serum. These studies were important for defining structural improvements that stabilize the peptide for human therapeutic use. The second milestone was to show the ability of HIP to reverse diabetes in mice. The well-recognized Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes model was used to show a significant decrease in glucose levels in the treatment group as compared with the placebo group. In addition, the treatment groups required progressively less insulin over the course of the 28-day study, and one entire group, treated with a proprietary CureDM HIP derivative, was actually completely insulin-free by day 21.

The studies were conducted under blinded, placebo-controlled conditions at Calvert Laboratories in Scranton, PA. Upham comments, "The ultimate goal is to change diabetes from a chronic, progressive disease to a transient metabolic disorder. Demonstrating efficacy in mice is tremendously exciting. Ultimately, we believe that HIP will be shown to be capable of restoring normal glucose metabolism in humans."

About HIP

Human proIslet Peptide (HIP) stimulates the differentiation of adult pancreatic progenitor cells into insulin-producing islets. It is hypothesized that treatment with this therapeutic will restore human pancreatic function without the need to use stem cells. The CureDM approach is to restore, maintain, and protect new insulin-producing islets in patients with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

About CureDM

CureDM, Inc., located in the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research at the Lankenau Hospital campus in Wynnewood, PA, is developing a novel human peptide that stimulates the production of new, insulin-producing islets within the pancreas. This could provide a significant therapeutic benefit for both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. For more information about CureDM, visit http://www.curedm.com.

CureDM, Inc.
http://www.curedm.com