Technologies
ViaCyte has two product candidates, PEC-Encap and PEC-Direct, in clinical development for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The Company’s third program, PEC-QT, in preclinical development to potentially treat all insulin-requiring type 1 and type 2 diabetes, is partnered with CRISPR Therapeutics.
ViaCyte’s innovative product candidates are based on two technology platforms: 1) stem cell expansion and differentiation, and 2) implantable devices for cell delivery (including the Encaptra® system). For the PEC family of product candidates, ViaCyte differentiates pluripotent stem cells into pancreatic islet precursors (PEC-01 cells). For PEC-Encap, the PEC-01 cells are then placed within the Encaptra system and implanted subcutaneously. Once implanted, the PEC-01 cells are designed to mature into endocrine cells that secrete insulin and other hormones in a regulated manner to control blood glucose levels, as endocrine cells do in a healthy functioning human pancreas.
Our technology platforms have the potential to yield treatments for other diseases that are caused by a loss or malfunction of a specific cell or tissue type. Because our platforms represent two major technological advances (stem cell-derived cell replacement therapies and the Encaptra system), we have opportunities to use each individually or together to address critical human diseases and disorders that can potentially be treated by replacing lost or malfunctioning cells or proteins.
At ViaCyte, our mission is to profoundly improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes. To accomplish that, we have become leaders and pioneers in many areas, breaking new ground in stem cell research and medical device engineering, and developing brand new methods of cell therapy scaling and manufacturing.
