EU Funding For Diabetes Fighting Peptide
31 Oct 2016 --- Irish biotechnology and R&D company, Nutrias’ will receive a €3million EU grant to fund it's revolutionary natural ingredient. Found and unlocked from within plants, the patent filed peptide carries the potential to prevent pre-diabetic patients developing diabetes.
Currently, there is no proven medical or other treatment that can be recommended for pre-diabetics to help prevent their progression into diabetes, so the scientific breakthrough from Nutrias is thought to be a game-changing opportunity in the fight against the global diabetes epidemic.
The EU’s Horizon 2020 funding will now unlock a total of over €3 million for Nuritas to support the final stage of its research and the commercialization of what would be a world-first development in diabetes prevention.
The research will include a series of Irish-based clinical trials being rolled out over the next 18 months. Pending regulatory approval, Nuritas hopes to have its new peptide integrated into functional food products and available on the market as early as 2020.
Diabetes now affects 422 million people globally, with 1.5 million dying from the disease in 2012 alone. 9 out of 10 sufferers have Type 2 diabetes and a staggering 1 in every 3 adults over 30 in England are now classed as pre-diabetic.
It’s clear that the ingredient could offer a much-needed solution to an increasing problem.
Nuritas CEO, Emmet Browne, said: “This is a hugely important validation for Nuritas and our use of cutting-edge artificial intelligence-driven technology to transform the future of food and disease prevention around the globe.”
“While we have a rich pipeline of similar breakthrough peptides, all found from natural sources with amazing scientific potential, diabetes prevention now becomes Nuritas’ first important area of focus, with many more to follow.”
“This peptide carries huge potential to bridge an enormous gap in medical science and act as a major weapon in the global battle against diabetes, now recognized as a full-blown epidemic.”
“This is the essence of why Nuritas exists and we are delighted that after significant and deep consideration, the EU has demonstrated such faith in Nuritas’ ability to tackle this huge global issue.”
Nuritas Founder Nora Khaldi added: “I have always believed data powered by artificial intelligence (AI) could prevent and cure all diseases.”
“This EU grant, for just one of our many peptides, delights me as it validates the reason for establishing Nuritas. It will also allow us to accelerate the delivery of this peptide to a world that is in great need of a pre-diabetes solution.”
“Because diabetes is usually irreversible, prevention strategies are now recognized as the realistic hope for epidemic control into the future.”
The significance of the Nuritas breakthrough has also been celebrated by the international medical community, as there have been few advances made in preventative solutions aimed at pre-diabetic patients.
Renowned clinician Dr. Lawrence A. Frohman, Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine states: “Prevention is globally accepted as key in the fight against the epidemic of diabetes but we have not seen anything to date to fill this role.”
“The Nuritas clinical studies represent an exciting venture and brings new hope in developing this important field of disease prevention.”
Nuritas has also recently opened a US office based in San Francisco.
Its peptide pipeline is recognized internationally as having significant future applications across a range of sectors including Functional Food, Medical Food, Supplements and Pharmaceutical.
The peptide, which is specifically derived from plant, comes from proteins, meaning when launched, its label will be likely be in terms of protein. However, as the product has not yet been finalized, the labeling specifics will be worked on between now and the launch date.
