Living Cell Technologies Limited (LCT) a global company pioneering the development of a cell implant therapy to treat diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases, has been granted a patent by the Australian Patent Office for Immupel, LCT’s industry-leading technology for encapsulating living cells prior to transplantation.

Immupel is a novel, proprietary encapsulation technology for use in cell transplantation applications. This selectively permeable system protects encapsulated living cells from immune rejection without the need for immunosuppressant drugs, while at the same time allowing the transplanted cells to survive and function normally.

As demonstrated in a successful clinical trial in Russia and in an on-going phase II clinical trial in New Zealand, the Immupel platform, as used in LCT’s Diabecell product, has facilitated the effective transplantation of insulin-secreting porcine pancreatic cells into diabetes patients.

The granting of the Australian patent provides protection of this crucial intellectual property in advance of possible future clinical trials in Australia.

Chief executive officer of LCT, Dr Ross Macdonald said: “Microencapsulation technology has been proposed for several decades but Living Cell Technology's product is the first to show clear efficacy in humans using encapsulated cells derived from another species, in this case from pigs. This is an important patent for us as we continue to execute our product development and commercialisation strategy.”

Living Cell Technologies (LCT) is developing cell-based products to treat life threatening human diseases and also owns a bio-certified pig herd that it uses as a source of cells for treating diabetes and neurological disorders. LCT also offers medical-grade porcine-derived products for the repair and replacement of damaged tissues, as well as for research and other purposes.