First Ever PhysioLab Platform of a Pre-Clinical Animal Model
ALEXANDRIA, Va. and FOSTER CITY, Calif., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The
American Diabetes Association (ADA) and Entelos, Inc. announced today the
successful completion of an in silico (computer simulation) model of the
non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse, the primary animal model used to study type 1
diabetes. This marks the successful completion of the first year of a two-year
collaboration between the Association and Entelos in the area of type 1
diabetes.
The Type 1 Diabetes PhysioLab(R) platform will empower researchers to
study the NOD mouse model in silico and help scientists bridge the gap between
animal research and patients with type 1 diabetes. While animal model systems
can provide insights into the pathophysiology of a disease, they fall short in
helping researchers predict human response to therapy. The Type 1 Diabetes
PhysioLab platform provides an innovative way to "translate" what is observed
in these animal models to human response.
"Our scientific alliance with Entelos in type 2 diabetes has evolved over
the last three years to include this current effort in type 1 diabetes," said
Richard Kahn, Ph.D., Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of the American
Diabetes Association. "We have continued to be impressed with not only the
cutting edge technology, but the scientific insight and expertise of the
Entelos research teams. We believe that this kind of in silico platform will
lead to novel findings for the scientific community to help determine what
causes, and how to stop, the onset of type 1 diabetes."
The platform will initially be used by Entelos and specific academic
researchers who are members of the Association's Type 1 Diabetes Scientific
Advisory Board. The Advisory Board, which consists of key thought leaders and
researchers in type 1 diabetes, contributes to the collaboration by providing
advice and guidance to the development of the platform. The platform will
later be made available to other academic researchers through the
Association's grant process.
"This model is a tremendous step forward in translational medicine for
type 1 diabetes. I believe our research community will use this technology to
investigate the onset and progression of this disease in the NOD mouse model
and to use those data to provide insights into predicting how humans would
likely respond to novel therapies aimed at preventing or reversing type 1
diabetes," said Mark A. Atkinson, Ph.D., the Sebastian Family Eminent Scholar
at University of Florida and member of the ADA's Scientific Advisory Board.
"In fact, the development process has already provided us with valuable
insights that describe the correlation between therapeutic responsiveness in
NOD mice with the influence of dose and timing on the successful initiation of
therapy."
During the second year of the collaboration, the Entelos research team
will conduct in silico research in the NOD mouse platform, add additional
biological detail, and create a population of virtual NOD mice to represent
and explore the heterogeneity and uncertainty in the disease's processes.
This effort may identify new therapeutic targets, and based on the key disease
functions identified during the research, indicate what animal model is most
predictive of a particular human response.
"The completion of this first-generation Type 1 Diabetes PhysioLab
platform marks a milestone for Entelos -- the development of our first in
silico animal model," stated James Karis, President and CEO of Entelos. "We
anticipate a very exciting year ahead as we continue the development of this
platform and apply what we have learned about the physiology of the NOD mouse
to the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes in humans. Partnered with the American
Diabetes Association and its Scientific Advisory Board, we expect to deliver
to the scientific community novel insights and interpretations of disease
pathogenesis leading to a prevention of this terrible disease."
Estimates are that as many as one million or more Americans have type 1
diabetes, an immune-mediated disease that leads to destruction of the
insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and the need for daily insulin
injections throughout life. Type 1 diabetes usually arises in children or
young adults. Scientific understanding of this disease in humans has been
limited by the difficulty of identifying those people likely to develop the
disease as well as practical considerations in studying humans with the
condition. At this time there are no preventative treatments available for
type 1 diabetes.
Entelos, Inc. (http://www.entelos.com) is a biopharmaceutical company seeking
to establish a proprietary product pipeline in metabolic and inflammatory
diseases using our breakthrough PhysioLab technology -- sophisticated,
state-of-the-art, mathematical models of human disease. Entelos also offers
its capabilities through external collaborations with biotechnology and
pharmaceutical companies. With our technology, we are increasing the
efficiency of our in-house and partners' pharmaceutical R&D activities. Our
mission is to dramatically improve how medicines are discovered, developed,
and brought to market.
The American Diabetes Association (http://www.diabetes.org) is the nation's
premier voluntary health organization supporting diabetes research,
information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the Association has offices in
every region of the country, providing services to hundreds of communities.
The Association's commitment to research is reflected through its scientific
meetings; education and provider recognition programs; and its Research
Foundation and Nationwide Research Program, which fund breakthrough studies
looking into the cure, prevention, and treatment of diabetes and its
complications. For more information, please visit http://www.diabetes.org or call
1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383). Information from both these sources is
available in English and Spanish.
NOTE: Entelos is a registered trademark of Entelos, Inc. PhysioLab is a
trademark and service mark of Entelos, Inc. All other trademarks are the
property of their registered owners.
Contacts:
Entelos, Inc. American Diabetes Association
Barry Sudbeck Diane Tuncer
sudbeck@entelos.com dtuncer@diabetes.org
Tel: +1-650-572-5479 +1-703-549-1500, ext. 5510
SOURCE Entelos, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.entelos.com
CONTACT:
Diane Tuncer of American Diabetes
Association, +1-703-549-1500, ext. 5510, or dtuncer@diabetes.org;
or Barry Sudbeck of Entelos, Inc., +1-650-572-5479, or
sudbeck@entelos.com
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