ViaCyte is one of the most exciting stem cell and regenerative medicine biotech companies so I like to try to check in with them regularly. Today’s post is my new interview with ViaCyte leader Paul Laikind on recent developments. We had a great chat about the science and how things are looking upbeat for the …
ViaCyte Q&A: CRISPR Tx quick progress, ongoing diabetes trial, & more Read More »
Clinical research on Type I Diabetes is one of the most exciting and promising areas of stem cells and regenerative medicine for human disease. Two of the coolest companies out there in this arena have been ViaCyte and BetaLogics (owned by J&J). For more on ViaCyte see my interview with President and CEO Paul Laikind …
ViaCyte on the Rise: First Diabetes Trial Data & Acquires BetaLogics IP Read More »
The path to the clinic is a slow and arduous activity, frustrating not only to the researcher and patient, but investors and biotech companies. Successful clinical translation of technologies requires a balance of science, streamlined translation and funding. To develop fantastic science and then realise the most important components cannot be adapted to the clinical …
Biotech Talks #ISSCR2015: StemCells Inc, Semma, ViaCyte, & Le Blanc Read More »
It’s been exciting to watch the recent developments in using stem cells as the basis for treatments for Type I Diabetes. One of the major players in this arena is the privately-held company, ViaCyte. In this post, I interview ViaCyte President and CEO, Paul Laikind. The topics include their VC-01 product, the Encaptra device, an update on …
ViaCyte CEO Laikind Interview: Trial Update, Melton, & Future Read More »
Chalk up another exciting development for the stem cell and regenerative medicine field in 2014 related to diabetes. It’s been a huge year. (Update: read my Fall 2019 interview with ViaCyte here.) For the first time ever, an ES cell-based device has been transplanted into a diabetic patient. ViaCyte working together with Dr. Robert Henry …
Diabetes Stem Cell Milestone: ViaCyte Transplants 1st Patient Read More »
All the recent high-profile papers that are having troubles are bumming me out, with the latest example being the “Betatrophin” Diabetes paper from Harvard last year. Yesterday it was called into major doubt by a new Cell paper from a group led by Jesper Gromada at Regeneron. The authors of the original 2013 Betatrophin paper–Doug Melton’s team at Harvard– indicated …
The Betatrophin Blues after Harvard Diabetes pub Read More »
There has been considerable discussion about the whether the media hyped the recent Harvard stem cells for diabetes paper (see top 10 takeaways of that paper). I believe that this was greatly hyped. This Harvard publication reported production of insulin-secreting cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESC). Newspapers around the world widely exaggerated the potential impact …
Stem cells for Diabetes: the danger of the word ‘cure’ Read More »
The idea of using stem cells for treat Type I Diabetes is very promising and could have huge practical impact. Real progress has been achieved toward this goal over the last decade. In perhaps another decade there might be a validated treatment. A new stem cell paper has just come out in Cell from Harvard in this …
Takeaways From Harvard Stem Cells for Diabetes Paper Read More »
Type 1 Diabetes is a huge global problem. Where are the solutions that would compliment or replace insulin therapy for diabetics? There haven’t been too many that have gotten very far, which makes the news of a potential stem cell-based therapy moving along in the pipeline all the more exciting. ViaCyte (see more posts here, …
Great News: FDA Nod For ViaCyte IND of Diabetes Stem Cell-Based Product Read More »
They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and more specifically I say that a little stem cell training for MDs, such as from A4M, can potentially be a dangerous problem too. I’ve been very concerned about self-proclaimed “stem cell training courses” for MDs. These kinds of courses have claimed that over as short as a …
Will Speedy A4M Stem Cell Course for Docs Put Patients at Risk? Read More »