Creating a "Bio Artificial" Pancreas

Diabetes disrupts the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, a critical process driven by insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas’s islet cells. Insulin acts as a key, allowing sugar to enter cells and provide essential energy. When this system fails—due to insufficient insulin production or the body’s resistance to it—diabetes takes hold.

Globally, the diabetes industry, including medications and devices, is currently valued at over $135 billion, underscoring the urgent need for cutting-edge therapies. By addressing the root cause, Avaí Bio and SGAustria aim to deliver sustainable, life-changing solutions for millions worldwide.

Worldwide Diabetes Crisis

The global diabetes epidemic currently affects 589 million adults aged 20-79, with projections forecasting an increase to 643 million by 2030, and 853 million by 2050. In the U.S., diabetes affects 38.4 million people (11.6% of the population). Projections estimate 55 million cases by 2030 and up to 74 million by 2050.

The Problem

Type 1 Diabetes results from an autoimmune attack that destroys insulin-producing islet cells, requiring patients to rely on daily insulin injections or pumps. Type 2 Diabetes, marked by insulin resistance, often begins with lifestyle changes like diet and exercise but may progress to medications or insulin therapy.

Avaí Bio and its JV partner, SGAustria, are redefining diabetes care. Our innovative diabetes program will develop an insulin-producing cell line, then encapsulate those cells inside using SGAustria's state of the art Cell-in-a-Box® technology to create a "bio-artificial" pancreas for type 1 and insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes.

Our Solution

Revolutionizing Diabetes Care

"Bio-Artificial" Pancreas for Diabetes

We are advancing an innovative therapy aimed at treating Type 1 diabetes and insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetes, conditions characterized by the body's inability to produce or effectively utilize insulin. At the core of our approach is the encapsulation of human cells that have been genetically engineered to mimic the function of healthy pancreatic beta cells.

These modified cells are designed to produce and store insulin, then release it dynamically and precisely in response to fluctuating blood glucose levels, ensuring a more natural and responsive regulation of blood sugar without the need for constant external insulin injections or monitoring.

An illustration of the Cell-in-a-Box technology, filled with insulin-producing cells, secreting insulin inside a patient.

By preventing immune rejection, encapsulation enables long-term implantation without the requirement for immunosuppressive drugs, which often carry significant side effects like increased infection risk. The capsules are typically microscopic in size, facilitating minimally invasive delivery methods such as injection or surgical implantation in strategic locations like the peritoneal cavity, where they can integrate seamlessly with the body's vascular system for optimal glucose sensing and insulin delivery.

SGAustria's Cell-in-a-Box® technology, a cellulose-based system that has demonstrated durability, biocompatibility, and controlled porosity in preclinical studies, paving the way for a bio-artificial pancreas that could revolutionize diabetes management by providing an autonomous, maintenance-free solution to insulin regulation.

The encapsulation process involves enclosing these insulin-producing cells within biocompatible, semi-permeable microcapsules that protect them from the patient's immune system, which would otherwise recognize and attack the foreign or modified cells as threats—a common challenge in cell-based therapies for autoimmune diseases like Type 1 diabetes.

This protective barrier allows essential nutrients, oxygen, and glucose to diffuse into the capsules to sustain the cells, while simultaneously permitting insulin and other necessary byproducts to exit into the bloodstream for immediate therapeutic effect.

Protecting the Insulin-Producing Cells