Orange County lab fills gaps in diabetes research

GORDONSVILLE — An Orange County biotechnology company is hoping to help researchers find a cure for diabetes.

Workers at Beta-Pro LLC provide human pancreatic islets, regions of the organ that contain endocrine, to researchers studying diabetes. Diabetes is caused when the body cannot use blood glucose as energy because it produces too little insulin or is unable to use insulin.

Demand for the pancreatic islet cells, which are extracted from pancreases donated to medical science and those not suitable for organ transplant, has risen as research on diabetes has increased, said Cynthia Barber, one of Beta-Pro’s co-founders and general manager.

Research has shown that when the islet cells are transplanted into diabetics patients, they can produce insulin the patient cannot supply themselves. Though promising, scientists are still seeing issues such as the islets getting rejected in some human patients.

“The economics of supply and demand is at play here, and islet-cell demand for research is overwhelming the current, inconsistent supply of islets,” Barber said. “Since only 25 percent of donor pancreases are suitable for whole-organ transplantation, our unique model is helping address the supply gap by leveraging this organ surplus for isolation and distribution of human islets in the hopes of facilitating a cure.”

Barber and local entrepreneur Paul Manning formed Beta-Pro in 2006 as a way to further diabetes research at the University of Virginia. Manning owns PBM Products, a company that makes store-brand infant formulas in the United States.

The company’s goal was to provide the cells for research while providing an alternative form of financial support for the university’s research, said Dr. Ken Brayman, chief scientific adviser for Beta-Pro and director of UVa’s Center for Cellular Transplantation and Therapeutics.

Brayman has performed successful pancreatic islet cell transplants at the university and said Beta-Pro’s work has been very helpful.

“The problem with cell therapy is there is no revenue to pay for the procedure because it’s considered experimental,” Brayman said. “This company is another revenue stream that supports the university’s research. This is forging new territory in finding alternatives to funding.”

The company has partnered with the International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine to acquire pancreases that would otherwise be destroyed. The IIAM works with people who want to donate their organs and tissues for scientific research and with organ procurement organizations and tissue banks.

Scientists working in the company’s lab within the UVa’s Research Park use a 12-hour internationally recognized process to capture and collect the islets from donor pancreases.

Once scientists have collected the cells, they keep some for the company and the university’s own research and then provide the rest to other researchers and pharmaceutical companies.

“When you’re processing human tissues, you sell the service and not the tissues itself,” Brayman said. “We have some lofty goals on what Beta-Pro could be able to do.”

Although there has been long-term success in transplanting the islets into laboratory rats, there is work to be done on human studies, Brayman said. Problems include the diabetic patient’s body rejecting the islet cells and attacking them or damaging the cells by giving the patient immunosuppressant medication. Brayman is working with other university researchers to find a way to have long-term success with cellular therapy in humans.

“We’re working on a number of different fronts,” Brayman said.

He hopes research will one day create successful cellular therapy that will help not only diabetics, but heart patients and those with liver disease, as well.

Beta-Pro is also looking at ways to grow the islet cells and get them to live longer, Barber said. Currently, the islet cells have a three-day shelf life, so procurement and transfer must be done quickly.

The company also offers pancreatic islets from Type II diabetic patients and human pancreatic tissues for research. The company’s long-term goal is to help find a cure for diabetes while becoming profitable by offering custom cellular and consulting services.

“Right now we charge enough [for the islets] to recover our costs,” Barber said. “We ultimately want to build a network of islet cell researchers because we’re all working on the same goal.”

Last month, Manning and his wife, Diane, donated $5 million to the university for diabetes research. It is on top of the $3 million the couple donated to the university in recent years for diabetic research.

The couple has two adult children who have Type I diabetes.

“We’re making breakthroughs every day,” said Manning in a recent interview with The Daily Progress. “I would like to cure diabetes by having therapy that takes diabetics off insulin and [allows patients to] return to lives without the need for insulin use.”