Zimislecel (Diabetes Technology)

History

2025: Product Announcement

On June 20, 2025, Canadian researchers at the University of Toronto reported on the development of a revolutionary treatment technique for type 1 diabetes based on the use of stem cells. One injection eliminates the need for daily administration of insulin.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. People with this ailment require daily insulin therapy and constant glucose monitoring. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2017, there were about 9 million patients with type 1 diabetes worldwide, most of whom lived in high-income countries. The cause of this type of diabetes is unknown and no prevention measures have been developed.

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Фото: Unsplash

A therapy called Zimislecel, developed by Canadian specialists, involves the use of laboratory-grown insulin-producing islet cells derived from pluripotent stem cells (can differentiate into all types of cells in the body). The grown cells are then injected into a blood vessel supplying the liver, where they settle and begin to produce insulin.

12 patients received the new treatment, of which 10 (that is, 83%) within a year after that did without insulin injections. Moreover, all these people managed to avoid a sharp decrease in blood sugar levels - dangerous events that can lead to confusion, seizures or hospitalization. Blood sugar variability decreased across the group, reducing the risk of diabetes-related complications. In addition, all patients remained within normal levels for significantly longer, with fewer extreme high or low values.^[1]

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