Adocia Files Patent on a Hydrogel Scaffold for Cell Therapy in the Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes

• Adocia has developed an innovative hydrogel to host and protect pancreatic cell implants
• This hydrogel scaffold containing pancreatic cells could restore glycemic control without requiring insulin injection and immunosuppressant drugs
• An academic collaboration with Pr. Pattou’s Inserm Team, worldwide leader of islet transplant has been established to develop this product in animal models and ultimately in human

LYON, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

Adocia (Paris:ADOC) (Euronext Paris: FR0011184241 – ADOC), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on diabetes treatment and other metabolic diseases with innovative formulations of proteins and peptides, announced today it is developing a hydrogel scaffold that hosts and protects pancreatic β cells for replacement of the missing cells of people with type 1 diabetes.

“Capitalizing on our expertise in regenerative medicine and diabetes, our multidisciplinary team has developed a scaffold for cells with the aim of being transformed into an organoid controlling glycemia. The collaboration with the team of experts of Professor Pattou has created great momentum and the first results obtained in small animals are really exciting,” said Olivier Soula, Deputy CEO and Director of R&D.

Among the 25 million people with type 1 diabetes in the world, and despite intensive and sophisticated insulin treatments, some patient’s diabetes are uncontrolled and should require pancreatic cell therapy to survive.

Cell therapy consists of the administration of living cells to diabetic patients to restore glycemic control. Since the 1980’s, it has been possible to transplant Langerhans islets taken from the pancreas of a deceased donor. However, despite health authorities’ approval, this technique is restricted to a very limited population due to remaining issues:

1. Scarcity of donors
2. The need for immunosuppressive drugs - to avoid the foreign cells to be rejected by immune system - is increasing the risk of infections and certain cancers

To solve these issues, Adocia has designed a new type of hydrogel scaffold able to host transplanted cells allowing them to release insulin while protecting them from immune reaction.

“We are on our way to achieving a patient dream, that cell therapy would provide benefit to a large population without requiring immunosuppressant drugs, which is a major drawback today for its use,” commented Gerard Soula, President & CEO of Adocia.

The program has been initiated with human Langerhans islet to achieve the proof of concept of a safe and effective implant, that is easily implantable. The next step is to extend the application to stem cells avoiding strong limitation of the limited number of donors.

Academic collaboration has been established with the research team of Professor François Pattou (DiabInnov®, Inserm Lille®, France), a worldwide expert in clinical and non-clinical Langerhans islet transplantation. Preliminary results obtained during this collaboration are promising. A first patent is pending.

“We strongly believe that cell therapy has a great future for the treatment of Type 1 if the limitations of cadaveric islets source and the need of immunosuppressant drugs can be addressed. Impressive advances have been made over the past few years in the differentiation of human stem cells toward functional insulin secreting cells. So far, immunoisolation devices implanted with insulin secreting cells, proved to be disappointing in clinical trials. The scaffold invented by Adocia offers promising features to overcome this medical challenge.” said Professor François Pattou, UMR1190 Translational Research for Diabetes Director, INSERM, University Hospital of Lille in France.

Upcoming events

In January, Adocia Members of management will be presenting at the virtual H.C. Wainwright BioConnect 2021 Conference, then will participate in the 24^th ODDO BHF Digital Forum and BIO Partnering at JP Morgan. Please, see details and links on the Calendar below:

January 7 -13: ODDO Forum

January 11-14: H.C. Wainwright Conferences

Gerard Soula Presentation at H.C. Wainwright BioConnect 2021 Conference:
Date: Monday, January 11^th, 2021
Time: 6:00 am EST
Link: https://journey.ct.events/view/05d513ad-9333-4971-9eee-1446015ccf34

The H.C. Wainwright webcast will be available on demand starting Monday, January 11^th, 2021 at 6:00 Am EST. Replays of the presentation will be available on the Company’s website for 90 days following the event.

January 11-15: BioPartnering at JP Morgan

About Adocia

Adocia is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that specializes in the development of innovative formulations of therapeutic proteins and peptides for the treatment of diabetes and metabolic diseases. In the diabetes field, Adocia’s portfolio of injectable treatments is among the largest and most differentiated of the industry, featuring five clinical-stage products and three products in preclinical-stage. Adocia aims to expand its portfolio towards the treatment of other metabolic diseases and their comorbidities. The proprietary BioChaperone^® technological platform is designed to enhance the effectiveness and/or safety of therapeutic proteins while making them easier for patients to use. Adocia customizes BioChaperone to each protein for a given application.

Adocia’s clinical pipeline includes four novel insulin formulations for prandial treatment of diabetes: two ultra-rapid formulations of insulin analog lispro (BioChaperone^® Lispro U100 and U200), a combination of basal insulin glargine and rapid-acting insulin lispro (BioChaperone^® Combo) and one combination of a prandial insulin with amylin analog pramlintide M1Pram. The clinical pipeline also includes an aqueous formulation of human glucagon (BioChaperone^® Glucagon) for the treatment of hypoglycemia.

Adocia preclinical pipeline includes three bi-hormonal products: two combinations of rapid human insulin analogues and Pramlintide (BioChaperone LisPram andBioChaperone AsPram) and a combination of insulin glargine with Liraglutide (BioChaperone^® GlaLira) for the treatment of diabetes.

Adocia has now added a fourth program in preclinical with the development of a hydrogel scaffold for cell therapy in the treatment of type 1 diabetes. A first patent has been filed.

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Adocia and its business. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that Adocia considers to be reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that the estimates contained in such forward-looking statements will be verified, which estimates are subject to numerous risks including the risks set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of the Universal Registration Document filed with the French Autorité des marchés financiers on April 22, 2020 (a copy of which is available at www.adocia.com) and to the development of economic conditions financial markets and the markets in which Adocia operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Adocia or not currently considered material by Adocia. The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause actual results, financial conditions, performance, or achievements of Adocia to be materially different from such forward-looking statements. This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy Adocia shares in any jurisdiction.

Adocia
Gérard Soula
CEO
contactinvestisseurs@adocia.com
Ph: +33 4 72 610 610
www.adocia.com

MC Services AG
Adocia Press Relations Europe
Raimund Gabriel
Managing Partner
adocia@mc-services.eu
Ph: +49 89 210 228 0

The Ruth Group
Adocia Investor Relations USA
James Salierno
Vice-President
jsalierno@theruthgroup.com
Ph.: +1 646 536 7035