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Vertex Announces FDA Clearance of Investigational New Drug (IND) Application for VX-880, a Novel Cell Therapy for the Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D)
- Vertex will initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in first half of 2021 - - VX-880 is the first stem cell-derived therapy evaluating fully differentiated
About this update from Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
[{"type":"text","content":"\n- Vertex will initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in first half of 2021 - \n\n- VX-880 is the first stem cell-derived therapy evaluating fully differentiated pancreatic islet cells for the treatment of T1D -\n\n BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nVertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the IND, enabling the company to proceed with initiating a clinical trial for VX-880, an investigational stem cell-derived, fully differentiated pancreatic islet cell therapy to treat T1D. Vertex plans to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in the first half of 2021 in patients who have T1D with impaired hypoglycemic awareness and severe hypoglycemia.\n\n“As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin this year, we are excited to bring a first-in-class cell therapy to the clinic with the potential to meaningfully impact people living with T1D,” said Bastiano Sanna, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief of Cell and Genetic Therapies at Vertex. “We look forward to getting our clinical program underway and testing our unique approach of replacing pancreatic islet cells, which are destroyed in people with type 1 diabetes, with our stem cell-derived fully differentiated insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells.”\n\nAbout VX-880\nVX-880, formerly known as STx-02, is an investigational allogeneic human stem cell-derived islet cell therapy that is being evaluated for patients who have T1D with impaired hypoglycemic awareness and severe hypoglycemia. VX-880 has the potential to restore the body’s ability to regulate glucose levels by restoring pancreatic islet cell function, including insulin production.\n\nThe VX-880 clinical trial will involve an infusion of fully differentiated, functional islet cells, as well as the chronic administration of concomitant immunosuppressive therapy, to protect the islet cells from immune rejection.\n\nAbout the Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial\nThe clinical trial is a Phase 1/2, single-arm, open-label study in subjects who have T1D with impaired hypoglycemic awareness and severe hypoglycemia. This will be a sequential, multi-part clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of different doses of VX-880. Approximately 17 patients will be enrolled in the clinical trial.\n\nAbout Type 1 Diabetes\nT1D results from the autoim...