Vertex Pharmaceutical’s investigational stem cell-derived islets VX-880 have shown improved blood glucose control in two patients with type 1 diabetes. One of them has become completely insulin-independent after 9 months of transplant. Before transplantation, both the patients had hypoglycemia and risk of immune suppression. However, after the transplantation procedure in a multi-center, single-arm, open-label clinical trial, both the patients reported a 30% reduction in insulin use. 

James F. Markmann, MD, Ph.D., presented the clinical trial stating that ‘transplanting pancreatic islets from a deceased donor into the hepatic portal vein of the patients can be transformational in diabetes management’ at the annual scientific session of the American Diabetes Association.

According to the study, hemoglobin A1C dropped from 8.6% to 6.9% on day 180 in patient 1 followed by a further reduction to a remarkable level of 5.2% on day 270. Similarly, in patient 2 the blood glucose level dropped from 7.5% to 7.1% on day 150. 

However, during the post-transplantation period, patient 1 experienced a total of 6 hypoglycemic events in the first 35 days while patient 2 had no such events. Meanwhile, other safety events were consistent with the immune suppressive regimen in the perioperative period, with patients showing mild symptoms such as rashes, dehydration, and headache.

(Source: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/975142?src= )