Semma Therapeutics was founded to develop transformative therapies for patients who currently depend on insulin injections. Recent work in the laboratory of Professor Douglas Melton led to the discovery of a method to generate billions of functional, insulin-producing beta cells in the laboratory. These cells develop in islet-like clusters grown from stem cells. Initial preclinical work in animal models of diabetes has shown that transplantation of these cells are sufficient to control blood glucose levels. This breakthrough technology has been exclusively licensed to Semma Therapeutics for the development of a cell-based therapy for diabetes.
Ongoing research at Semma Therapeutics is focused on combining these proprietary cells with a state-of-the-art cell delivery and immune protection strategy that can protect these cells from the patient’s immune system and allow the beta cells to function as they do in non-diabetic individuals. Implantation of the beta cell-filled device has the potential to provide a true replacement for the missing beta cells in a diabetic patient and would not require patient immunosuppression. Semma Therapeutics is working to bring this new therapeutic option to the clinic and improve the lives of patients with diabetes.
MedMates is Rhode Island's first healthcare technology network group dedicated to galvanizing collaboration between health-tech companies, hospitals, health care facilities, health insurance providers, universities, researchers, sources of capital and governmental partners. Founded in 2013, MedMates members have deep experience in the fast-changing health-tech field, ranging from startups to mature companies and everything in between. Our mission is to showcase and strengthen the Ocean State's health-tech ecosystem by building an interconnected web of people and companies dedicated to innovation and growth of this important sector.