Medicine company ViaCyte Inc revealed on Monday that it has been implanted human stem cell-derived product candidate (PEC-Direct) in type 1 diabetes patients at a subtherapeutic dose at UZ Brussel, the University Hospital of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), under collaboration with The Center for Beta Cell Therapy in Diabetes.

These are reportedly the first patients in Europe to receive PEC-Direct, an encapsulated pancreatic progenitor cell product candidate designed to replace lost insulin-producing beta cells and restore blood glucose control for type 1 diabetes patients who fulfill entry criteria for a beta cell replacement therapy, added the company.

For this patient population, a beta cell replacement therapy, like PEC-Direct, can potentially provide a functional cure, revealed the company.

Under the preclinical models, the implants of PEC-Direct (also known as VC-02) are capable of forming a functional beta cell mass that controls blood glucose levels. This potential is now being examined in the first European clinical trial with type 1 diabetes patients who have lost blood glucose control due to beta cell loss in the pancreas.

In the first phase of the European trial, the implants will be evaluated for their ability to form beta cells; the second phase will examine their capacity to produce systemic levels of insulin that establish glucose control. The implantation is a major step in the development of a cell therapy for type 1 diabetes, concluded the company.