NAPSR News: AstraZeneca and Harvard team up for diabetes research

WASHINGTON - March 25, 2015 - PRLog -- AstraZeneca will enter into a five-year research collaboration with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI)  in order to acclimatize a technique for the creation of human beta cells from stem cells for use in screens of AstraZeneca’s compound library to explore potential diabetes treatment options.

In type 1 diabetes patients have to inject themselves with insulin to maintain blood glucose levels as beta cells are destroyed by an autoimmune response and in type 2 diabetes,  beta cells either decrease or fail to function properly. The research will be funded by AstraZeneca and led by HSCI co-chairman and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Professor Doug Melton. This collaboration will allow scientists to effectively study the biology behind the loss of human beta cell function and mass in diabetes, and screen compounds against cells produced to find treatment options that may potentially restore beta cell activity in diabetics. Marcus Schindler, Head of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, Innovative Medicines and Early Development, AstraZeneca, said: “We are excited about the potential of this latest collaboration with Harvard University. Professor Melton’s group has made an extraordinary breakthrough in the differentiation of human stem cells into human beta cells and our scientists are extremely excited to be working alongside his team. Harnessing this new technology has the potential to transform the research and development of new treatments for patients with diabetes.”

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.”

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