Intrexon Corporation, a leader in synthetic biology, announced has entered into a research collaboration agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, to discover and develop ActoBiotics therapies directed against selected targets to treat type 2 diabetes (T2D), obesity and/or metabolic disorders related to energy dysregulation. This deal was facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation.

Diabetes is one of today's most pressing health problems, afflicting more than 387 million people worldwide at a cost exceeding $376 billion.

Samuel Broder, M.D., SVP and head of Intrexon's health sector stated, "I am very pleased we are partnering with Janssen to address type 2 diabetes and related conditions. Through the use of Intrexon's proprietary ActoBiotics platform, we believe this collaboration will make a significant contribution to this substantial global health issue. The breadth of opportunity to treat an array of diseases with our versatile ActoBiotics technology continues to expand."

T2D is a chronic syndrome resulting from dysregulation of blood sugar levels. Current treatments generally target only specific aspects of the disease, leaving other related complications insufficiently addressed. Intrexon's ActoBiotics platform represents an innovative oral delivery system for biological effectors ideally suited to tackle multiple aspects of T2D with the potential to improve efficacy in maintaining glycemic control in the long term.

In addition to treatment of established T2D, the research collaboration will focus on diabetes prevention. To this end, the research collaboration will utilize the ActoBiotics platform to express certain effectors to help prevent pre-diabetics from progressing into full stage disease.