Arecor Ltd (“Arecor” or “the Company”), the biopharmaceutical company advancing today’s therapies to enable healthier lives, announces that it has signed a Research, Development and Commercialisation agreement with JDRF, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research.
Under this collaboration, Arecor and JDRF will contribute matching funds to develop a stable, liquid co-formulation of pramlintide and insulin (AT271) for people living with diabetes who require prandial insulin treatment. It has been demonstrated that the combined injection of pramlintide and insulin at meal-times results in significantly improved treatment outcomes, such as enhanced post prandial glucose control, improved HbA1c, weight loss and concomitant reduction in insulin doses. Currently pramlintide is underutilised despite these significant benefits as it requires the patient to administer daily injections in addition to their insulin injections. Therefore, combination treatment, AT271, would reduce the burden of use by providing a single injection treatment option for pramlintide and prandial insulin.
Arecor will use its proprietary formulation technology platform, Arestat™, to develop a new, co-formulation of pramlintide and insulin. This will be in accordance with a Development Programme, monitored by a Joint Steering Committee, which will include non-clinical studies to develop a new product. This contract will be managed under the JDRF standard terms for industry partnerships.
Sarah Howell, Chief Executive Officer at Arecor, said: "We are delighted to be collaborating with JDRF. The development of a co-formulation of pramlintide-insulin has the promise to significantly improve the quality of life for people living with diabetes by enabling more effective management of this condition. This collaboration reflects the investment we are making in our proprietary portfolio of diabetes products and we appreciate the support of such a prestigious organisation as JDRF.”
JDRF scientist Jonathan Rosen, PhD, said: “Arecor’s expertise in enhancing current therapies supports our drive to target life-changing breakthroughs to help people better manage type 1 diabetes and ultimately find cures for the disease. An insulin-pramlintide co-formulation will allow people with type 1 diabetes to achieve better glucose control, improving quality of life and in all likelihood ultimately reducing long-term complications.”