Delpor Inc. said today that it won a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to support the development of its exenatide implant.
The implant was designed for patients with Type II diabetes and features Delpor’s Nanopor technology, which uses passive diffusion to deliver therapeutic levels of exenatide for at least 3 months.
The 2-year grant includes $741,023 for the 1st year and $734,407 for the 2nd year, contingent upon availability of funds and the project’s progress.
“We are extremely grateful to the NIDDK for continuing to support us in the development of this very important and innovative product,” president & CEO Tassos Nicolaou said in prepared remarks. “DLP-414 will provide a safer, more efficacious, cost effective, and less invasive maintenance therapy for patients suffering from type 2 diabetes, and the further validation of the proposed technology will create the potential for a safer, and more convenient delivery of proteins and peptides.”
Exenatide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, boosts glucose-dependent insulin secretion by the pancreatic beta-cell and lessens inappropriately-elevated glucagon secretion, according to Delpor.
“The aging and overweight patient population and rising healthcare costs, have shifted the industry focus from acute care, to cost effective chronic disease management,” Nicolaou added. “DLP-414 has the potential to extend the exenatide formulation for as long as 1 year, while offering full reversibility in case the patient has a treatment related adverse event.”
