AUSTIN, Texas & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
(“Genprex” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ), a clinical-stage gene therapy company developing potentially life-changing technologies for patients with cancer and other serious diseases, today announced that Dr. George Gittes, the lead researcher and Harvard graduate that developed Genprex’s new potentially curative diabetes gene therapy, was featured in a video interview discussing the therapy.
Dr. Gittes sat down with one of ’s broadcast journalists to give an overview of the gene therapy, how it works, how it may have the potential to help treat type 1 and type 2 diabetes and next steps to move the gene therapy to the clinic.
“We noticed that by gene therapy we could cause some of the cells in the pancreas that do not normally make insulin, but they are closely related to insulin cells, to turn into an insulin-producing cell,” said Dr. Gittes, Co-Scientific Director and Professor of Surgery at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. “The real excitement came when we realized that when we did this in a mouse that normally reacts to its own insulin cells in the same way a juvenile diabetic or Type 1 diabetic does, it didn’t notice these [new] cells and left them alone for a long time without us doing anything else. It was just one treatment with a gene therapy, and they [the mice] were fine for months, which is exciting.”
To watch the full video interview, please visit: .
In February 2020, Genprex signed an with the University of Pittsburgh for the potentially curative gene therapy for diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 30 million Americans have diabetes, and approximately 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every year.
Dr. Gittes and his team at the University of Pittsburgh plan to continue studying the technology in a pre-clinical phase. As the research is refined and sufficient animal data is generated, the Company, in conjunction with Dr. Gittes and his team, plan to move forward with a Phase I clinical trial in diabetic patients, which could be the first-ever gene therapy tested in humans for diabetes.
About Genprex, Inc.
Genprex, Inc. is a clinical-stage gene therapy company developing potentially life-changing technologies for patients with cancer and other serious diseases. Genprex’s technologies are designed to administer disease-fighting genes to provide new treatment options for large patient populations with cancer and other serious diseases who currently have limited treatment options. Genprex works with world-class institutions and collaborators to in-license and develop drug candidates to further its pipeline of gene therapies in order to provide novel treatment approaches for patients with cancer and other serious diseases. The company’s lead product candidate, Oncoprex™ immunogene therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), uses the company’s unique, proprietary platform which delivers cancer-fighting genes by encapsulating them into nanoscale hollow spheres called nanovesicles, which are then administered intravenously and taken up by tumor cells where they express proteins that are missing or found in low quantities. In January 2020, the FDA granted Fast Track Designation for Oncoprex in combination with AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso® for the treatment of NSCLC. For more information, please visit the company’s website at or follow Genprex on , and .
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the effects of the licensed gene therapy on diabetes and the effect of Genprex’s other product candidates, alone and in combination with other therapies, on cancer, as well as Genprex’s ongoing and planned preclinical and clinical studies and potential partnerships. Risks that contribute to the uncertain nature of the forward-looking statements include risks relating to the effects of the safety and effectiveness of the licensed gene therapy and of Genprex’s other product candidates, alone and in combination with other therapies, as well as the success of Genprex’s ongoing and planned preclinical and clinical studies and the success of Genprex’s efforts in concluding potential partnering arrangements for product development and commercialization. Other risks and uncertainties associated with Genprex and its product candidates are described more fully under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in Genprex’s filings and reports with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. Genprex undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.
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