Biodel Inc. announced the award of two research grants by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to Stanford University and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to evaluate the use of VIAject(R) (ultra-rapid-acting injectable human insulin) in the treatment of diabetes. The first grant will support clinical testing under the direction of Bruce Buckingham, M.D., professor of pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine, to compare the effects of VIAject(R) and Humalog(R) (insulin lispro) on postprandial glycemia when used with insulin pumps. The second grant will support clinical testing at OHSU under the direction of W. Kenneth Ward, M.D., associate professor at OHSU, to evaluate the use of VIAject(R) to improve closed-loop, (artificial pancreas) glycemic control in patients with Type 1 diabetes. Biodel will supply VIAject(R) to these institutions which will receive a total of approximately $407,000 from JDRF to fund the two research projects over the next year.
VIAject(R) is Biodel’s proprietary ultra-rapid-acting formulation of recombinant human insulin that is designed to be absorbed into the blood faster than currently marketed rapid-acting insulin analogs. It has been tested in more than 875 patients who participated in Phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials of the drug in the United States, Germany and India. Biodel has submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for clearance to market VIAject(R) for the treatment of diabetes.
