Overview
Paving the way for the next generation of diabetes treatment
SENSULIN
San Diego, CA, USA
Sector:
Biotech
Focus: Diabetes therapeutics
Year: 2020
DIABETES
INSULIN
GRI
TREATMENTS
BIOTECH
A drastically underserved market in the auto-immune space
The life of a diabetic patient is dictated by extreme fluctuations in blood
sugar. Regulating levels of glucose requires a painstakingly regimented lifestyle, along with
carefully timed insulin injections every day.
While Type II diabetes patients need one to
two injections per day, the biggest insulin users are Type I patients. Making up less than 6% of
all diabetics in the US, they depend on a staggering six doses of insulin on average every day
to keep their blood sugar in check.
Chronic diabetes is infamously known for the various
complications that can arise in the long term, such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease,
and diabetic neuropathy or retinopathy.
Every year, over 800,000 people become blind from diabetes-related issues.
However, besides having to cope with these disabling or life-threatening
risks, most patients also suffer from complications with insulin – the critical component that
helps regulate the disease in the first place. In fact, injecting too much medication can cause
hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and severe consequences such as seizures, brain damage, and even
death.
Solution
A Platform to make insulin smarter and more responsive
To address these concerns, Sensulin is developing a solution that can
manage glucose levels intelligently throughout the day: one application of Glucose-Responsive
Insulin (GRI) or “Smart Insulin,” based on Stimulus-Responsive Drug Delivery
(SRDD).
Involving a linker system that responds to glucose receptors, the proprietary
technology autoregulates the release of insulin based on the body’s blood glucose levels,
thereby decreasing the number of daily insulin injections from six to only one. The
auto-regulating dosage is safe and suitable for all patients.
MArket Opportunities
A differentiated technology to break the status quo
Sensulin’s Smart Insulin is a promising approach to mitigating
complications associated with diabetes. With a vast number of cases caused by too much or too
little insulin in the body, the solution works on regulating the release of insulin in a more
accurate way, to restore and maintain normal glucose levels for longer.
This also means
the GRI approach can ultimately reduce the risk of hypoglycemia and associated complications by
50% for Type I and Type II diabetes.
Dr. Alan Cherrington, Chairman of Sensulin’s advisory board, stated:
“The big problem with current
insulin therapy is the risk of hypoglycemia, which is the price that must be paid for tight
glucose control. There is a need for insulin analogs which can achieve tight control without
the consequence of excessive hypoglycemia. Glucose-responsive insulin represents a novel way
to achieve that goal.
Transormation
From single asset to groundbreaking platform
Today, there are roughly 463 million diabetic patients worldwide, of which 150-200 million require insulin daily – with that number expected to grow to 592 million by the year 2035. Rising levels of obesity and disease prevalence have contributed to a 12% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the diabetic market, with numbers continuing to grow exponentially.
Expected to be more effective, more affordable, and safer than today’s standard treatment, Sensulin’s Smart Insulin presents an opportunity to create a new differentiated solution with key advantages in the market
Backed with 3 granted patents and a strong IP strategy, the San-Diego-based
biotech company proposes an innovative solution and a simplified clinical pathway, without the
need to bet on a new consumer behavior.
The company is led by a team of ex-Amylin
scientists and executives with a combined century of experience in diabetes and biotech as well
as a successful exit track record (including a USD 7 billion USD M&A exit in 2012, the
largest ever pure-play diabetes exit to date).
In other words, Sensulin has the opportunity to become the best-in-class GRI solution.
