Type 1 Diabetes
How AAGP® could help break through current treatment barriers
In the U.S., more than 34 million adults — about 10% — have diabetes, which is a chronic condition that causes high blood sugar.
In Type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t properly use insulin, causing dangerous swings in blood sugar levels. But in Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, the body doesn’t make insulin at all. The resulting uncontrolled blood sugar levels can cause life-threatening complications, and people with this disease must take insulin every day in order to survive. More than a million people have Type 1 diabetes, including almost 200,000 children and teens.
Type 1 diabetes is an incurable disease. Untreated, it can be fatal. But with AAGP®, there is hope for a treatment that brings freedom.
The causes of Type 1 diabetes
Diet and lifestyle don’t cause Type 1 diabetes. Rather, this disease is thought to be cause by an autoimmune response in which the body attacks its own pancreas cells, destroying its ability to produce insulin. This autoimmune response, like many other autoimmune diseases, could be triggered by environmental factors, genetics, or even a viral infection.
The symptoms of Type 1 diabetes
In Type 1 diabetes, symptoms can develop rapidly, and they may even be quite severe. Although frequently diagnosed in young people, Type 1 diabetes can develop at any age. Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes include:
- Frequent urination
- Extreme hunger or thirst
- Fatigue
- Slow-healing wounds
- Blurry vision
- Weight loss
- Numbness or tingling in hands or feet
Treatments for Type 1 diabetes
Presently, there is one treatment for Type 1 diabetes: Insulin. The diabetic must frequently test their blood sugar so that they administer the right dosage of insulin to keep their blood sugar levels in check. Insulin is typically delivered via a self-administered injection multiple times per day. There are also insulin pumps, which are devices that can be programmed to deliver specific amounts or a steady dose.
AAGP® as a potential solution
But there may be another solution. There exists in the pancreas a type of cell called an islet cell. These cells produce the insulin that is so vital to regulating blood sugar levels. At ProtoKinetix, we are actively pursuing Phase 1 research in islet cells treated with AAGP®PXX-001, our proprietary molecule that may extend the life of these cells. Our hope is that AAGP®-treated islet cells can be used in cell transplants, giving a patient’s pancreas an entirely new ability to produce insulin on its own. Called the Edmonton Protocol, these transplants are already a well-documented treatment for Type 1 diabetes. Islet cells treated with AAGP® have the potential to change lives by improving outcomes for these transplants.
ProtoKinetix research and clinical trials
Find out what we’ve learned so far about the impact AAGP® could have in the field of diabetes research and treatment.
Market potential for Type 1 diabetes
The market for Type 1 diabetes is expected to see a compound annual growth rate of 7.9%¹ by 2025, to reach $9.6 billion worldwide. Rising prevalence of this chronic disease combined with the need for lifelong medication is a unique selling point for this market; market drivers also include growing global access to medication, improved diagnostic procedures, and rising healthcare spending worldwide. As a company we hope to contribute to ending this disease through the curative potential of regenerative medicine. The market potential for effective treatments is huge.
2025 Market Forecast:
$9.6 Billion
Research Pipeline for Transplants:
Regenerative medicine
Research:
Islet cells produce insulin, and Islet cell transplants are well recognized as a viable and effective treatment for unstable Type-1 diabetes. We are currently in Phase 1, first-in-human clinical trials to evaluate the safety and tolerability of AAGP® PKX-001 treated Islet cells. PKX-001 is the designation given to the lead drug product molecule of the AAGP® family for this application.
We are expanding Phase 1’s clinical trial to include testing on 10 patients. (This is in addition to the initial six patients.) The second half of Phase 1 will also include secondary objectives, including dose escalation to establish optimization criteria for efficacy testing. When Phase 2 begins, we’ll be evaluating the continued safety and efficacy of adding AAGP® PKX-001 treated islets to the already established Edmonton Protocol for the treatment of Type-1 diabetes. Stay up to date on the progress related to this protocol here.
Whole organ support
Research:
We are in the discovery phase of AAGP®’s effects on whole organ support. As we mentioned, we believe AAGP® has the power to extend the length of viability far beyond four hours for organs used in transplants.
One of the most significant complications of diabetes is blindness, often as a result of diabetic retinopathy. Protecting the retina is a challenge, and replacing it has been greatly limited by the number of available organ donors. Yet, developments through improved access to new retinas by use of a patient’s own induced pluripotent stem cells to make retinal grafts have emerged. Keeping these retina cells viable using AAGP is the hope of numerous patients and doctors. Protokinetix has advanced our pre-clinical studies to stage-3 and recently reported our findings.
We plan on testing the beneficial effects of our anti-aging glycopeptide being added to the perfusate solution. We feel that the addition of AAGP® to the irrigation fluid will protect and extend the viability of donor organs from harvest to transplant.
Our future work will expand to develop AAGP in concert with ongoing developments that support whole organs, such as the pancreas, heart, and liver, for transplantation. For example, normothermic liver perfusion is an innovative therapy applied to donor livers outside the body before transplantation. It improves the quality of the organ and makes it safer for transplant.
Explore other Industry applications for AAGP®
Support our Type 1 diabetes research, while you support your own financial future. Contact your broker or reach out to our team at ProtoKinetix to learn about potential investment options.
ProtoKinetix, Inc.