Projo Biz Blog

EpiVax, Inc, of Providence, said this morning it has won a $600,000 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to develop a a drug for the prevention and treatment of a type of diabetes.

NIDDK, a division of the National Institutes of Health, will provide the $600,000 over two years. The studies are anticipated to show that the drug reduces harmful immune responses to insulin-producing cells, preserving the body's ability to make its own insulin.

"EpiVax is grateful to the NIH and other funding sources in allowing our scientific team to conduct further research on a treatment for a disease that affects the health of so many young persons." said Dr. Annie De Groot, chief executive of the company.

She said the NIH grant will build on the current work funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She said EpiVax expects to be ready to consider clinical trials for treatment of juvenile diabetes, beginning in two to three years.

The EpiVax research program will be carried out in collaboration with Dr. David Scott of the University of Maryland and with Dr. Robert Smith of the Hallett Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology at Rhode Island Hospital.

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