Broader health benefits of ProTrans in treatment of type 1 diabetes
NextCell Pharma AB ("NextCell" or the "Company", Nasdaq First North Growth Market: NXTCL), has presented new long-term clinical data at the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT) 2024 Regional Meeting, held in Gothenburg, Sweden. The results show the long-term safety of the treatment, the effect of preserving the patient's own insulin production and more health benefits in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D), such as lower BMI and blood pressure.
A Single Dose of ProTrans Slows Disease Progression for More Than 5 Years. Patients from the Phase II trial have been monitored for over 5 years following a single dose of ProTrans. The long-term data that was presented in a press release 2024-05-28 shows that ProTrans treatment significantly slows the progression of T1D. This was described in detail at ISCT, using a non-linear regression analysis of the percentage loss of endogenous insulin production over time. The slopes of placebo-treated individuals were significantly steeper than those of ProTrans-treated individuals, indicating statistically significant differences in slowing disease progression year to year in the latter group (p<0.05-0.01).
ProTrans Treatment Supports Long-Term Health Benefits in T1D Patients. In addition to preserving insulin production, new data was presented where ProTrans also supported broader health benefits in patients over a multi-year follow-up period. Key findings include:
- Body mass index (BMI) increased significantly in placebo-treated individuals, while BMI was maintained in ProTrans-treated patients after 2 years (p<0.05-0.01).
- ProTrans-treated patients also exhibited a consistent trend of lower diastolic and systolic blood pressure, with significant differences emerging after 4-4.5 years compared to placebo-treated individuals (p<0.05).
The findings reinforce ProTrans as a promising cell therapy for T1D, capable of slowing disease progression and supporting broader metabolic health benefits in treated individuals.
NextCell Pharma also presented data on its strategy for delivering an off-the-shelf therapeutic that is accessible for patients irrespective of their geographical location. Cold chain management, standardised handling of the product and a long-term storage and stability of the product are a few of the unique features of ProTrans and how it has been developed with a commercial mindset.