Syntax Bio Pairs With Mayo Clinic on Stem-Cell Pancreatic Cell Therapies for Type 1 Diabetes

Editor’s Take: Mayo Clinic’s expertise in pancreatic biology will be a boost to regulatory-enabling studies and early clinical development.

Syntax Bio, a Chicago-based synthetic biology company, launched an R&D collaboration with Mayo Clinic, advancing therapies for type 1 diabetes.

Namely, the teams will target stem cell-derived pancreatic cell therapies, hoping to define and develop an allogeneic beta cell therapy. This therapy will then ideally be used to treat insulin-dependent diabetes, based on patient needs.

Syntax Bio’s Platform

To accomplish this, Syntax Bio is deploying its proprietary platform, Cellgorithm, to guide induced pluripotent stem cells into beta cells. The technology of the platform simplifies stem cell differentiation by programming gene activation sequences necessary to create specific cell types. Syntax Bio says Cellgorithm has demonstrated an ability to generate target cell types in weeks or days, versus months. The company adds this also reduces the need for repetitive manual interventions.

Recently, Syntax Bio received a grant award from Breakthrough T1D for purposes of advancing pancreatic beta cell therapy.

How Mayo Clinic Helps

Mayo Clinic’s role in the collaboration will be providing expertise in pancreatic biology and functional testing in preclinical diabetes models. These capabilities will support regulatory-enabling studies and, eventually, early clinical development.

There are practical challenges, the two parties say, to developing pancreatic cell therapies that this collaboration aims to solve. Included among these: ensuring correct cell type, proper cell function, consistent production, and manufacturing at scale.

Working in rapid development cycles, the teams will use results from functional testing to improve cell identity, maturity, and performance.

Unmet Needs in Type 1 Diabetes

Syntax Bio CEO John Craighead commented on what to expect.

“The collaboration reflects our belief that regenerative medicine must start with precise control over cell identity and function,” Craighead said. “We aim to accelerate development of a next-generation cell therapy with transformative real-world benefits for patients with type 1 diabetes.”

Programs developed in the collaboration, meeting certain milestones, may advance through other biopharmaceutical partnerships to support development and potential testing.