• SKIP TO CONTENT
  • SKIP NAVIGATION
  • Patient Resources
    • Clinical Trial Listings
    • What are Clinical Trials?
    • Become a Clinical Trial Volunteer
    • Useful Resources
    • FDA Approved Drugs
  • Professional Resources
    • Research Center Profiles
    • Market Research
    • Benchmark Reports
    • FDA Approved Drugs
    • Training Guides
    • Books
    • eLearning
    • Events
    • Newsletters
    • White Papers
    • SOPs
  • White Papers
  • Clinical Trial Listings
  • Advertise
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Home » AstraZeneca, Harvard Stem Cell Institute to collaborate in diabetes

AstraZeneca, Harvard Stem Cell Institute to collaborate in diabetes

March 25, 2015
CenterWatch Staff

AstraZeneca has entered into a five-year research collaboration with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) to adapt a technique that creates human beta cells from stem cells for use in screens of AstraZeneca’s compound library in the search for new treatments for diabetes.

The collaboration also aims to better understand how the function of beta cells declines in diabetes and research findings will be made available to the broader scientific community through peer-reviewed publications.

In people with type 1 diabetes, beta cells are destroyed by an autoimmune response and patients must inject insulin to maintain normal blood glucose levels. In type 2 diabetes, the beta cells either fail to function properly or their numbers decrease. Human beta cells for research are extremely limited in number and availability. However, a team led by HSCI co-chairman and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, professor Doug Melton, has developed a technique which allows limitless quantities of beta cells to be produced from human induced pluripotent stem cells generated directly from adult cells, similar in all important respects to those found in healthy individuals.

AstraZeneca will provide funding for a team of investigators at HSCI lead by Melton as well as establishing an in-house team in Mölndal, Sweden, dedicated to the collaboration. Scientists from each organization will work together to understand the biology behind the loss of human beta cell function and mass in diabetes, and to screen compounds against the cells produced to search for potential new medicines that could restore beta cell activity in diabetic patients.

Isaac T. Kohlberg, head of the Office of Technology Development at Harvard University, said, “AstraZeneca’s commitment to establish and fund this collaboration will help advance the development of new medicines that may ameliorate the need for diabetics to inject insulin, and prevent the numerous, potentially fatal complications of diabetes. This collaboration is an ideal example of how academia and industry should work together to serve the public interest and make a difference in the lives of patients.”

The collaboration is aligned with AstraZeneca’s strategic research approach in diabetes which is aimed at restoring the function of the pancreatic beta cells as well as insulin sensitivity, irrespective of therapeutic modality.

    Upcoming Events

    • 14Apr

      MAGI 2024: The Clinical Research Conference

    Featured Products

    • Surviving an FDA GCP Inspection

      Surviving an FDA GCP Inspection: Resources for Investigators, Sponsors, CROs and IRBs

    • Best Practices for Clinical Trial Site Management

      Best Practices for Clinical Trial Site Management

    Featured Stories

    • Jonathan Seltzer

      Thought Leadership: Remote Patient Monitoring Gives New View of Safety in Cardiac Clinical Trials

    • Quality_Compass-360x240.png

      Ask the Experts: Applying Quality by Design to Protocols

    • Obesity Treatment Patient

      Clinical Trials Need Greater Representation of Obese Patients, Experts Say

    • Modernize-360x240.png

      FDA IT Modernization Plan Prioritizes Data-Sharing, AI, Collaboration and More

    Standard Operating Procedures for Risk-Based Monitoring of Clinical Trials

    The information you need to adapt your monitoring plan to changing times.

    Learn More Here
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell or Share My Data

    Footer Logo

    300 N. Washington St., Suite 200, Falls Church, VA 22046, USA

    Phone 703.538.7600 – Toll free 888.838.5578

    Copyright © 2023. All Rights Reserved. Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing