Did you know that November is Diabetes Awareness month? According to the CDC, 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes and there is still a need for new diabetes therapeutics. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is seeking co-development partners and/or licensees to further develop a Ca-peptide as a therapeutic for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2MD).

In a person with type 2 diabetes, there is an accumulation of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) fibrils in pancreatic islets. This causes amyloid plaques to form, which is referred to as islet amyloidosis. Researchers believe that islet amyloidosis plays a causative role in the development and progression of B-cell dysfunction in T2DM. There is a need for therapies that target islet amyloidosis.

Inventors at the NIA discovered a novel variant of the C-peptide, named Ca- peptide, that derives from a novel proinsulin of 74 amino acids and inhibits IAPP amyloid fibrillation more efficiently than conventional C-peptide. There is an opportunity for Ca-peptide derivatives to be developed as a therapeutic inhibiting islet amyloidosis. Researchers also identified decreased levels of processed Ca-peptide in T2DM pancreatic islets compared with control islets, showing that the Ca-peptide could also possibly be used as a clinical diagnostic marker type 1 and type 2 diabetes as well as neurodegenerative diseases.

If you are interested in licensing or collaborating on this potential diabetes therapeutic, please view the abstract here.