Collaborations
University of Perugia
Within the University, there is an international academic research core working on cellular and molecular therapy for type 1 diabetes (Laboratory for Endocrine Cellular Transplants and Biohybrid Organs, Department of Medicine and Surgery, formerly directed by Prof. Riccardo Calafiore). The collaboration with the University of Perugia, in compliance with the Memorandum of Understanding, will be of strategic importance in the activities of the Foundation aimed at promoting the mentioned targeted scientific research and may support interactions with national and international regulatory health agencies (AIFA, EMA etc.), which are indispensable for the human experimental application of ongoing scientific projects.
Italian Lions Association for Diabetes - AILD
As said AILD has been one of the DRF founding members. AILD is strongly committed to prevention and research related to diabetes and also is the promoter of the International Center for Diabetes Research (CIRD: directed by Prof. Calafiore), a facility dedicated to scientific research, financed in recent years with over €520,000, also through the contribution of institutional and private donors. In recent years, AILD has launched a widespread, nationwide information campaign, establishing coordination centers in almost all Regions, from North to South, in order to foster prevention activities, nutritional and motor therapy for type 2 diabetes, and also training of alert dogs capable of recognizing the first signs of hypo/hyperglycemia in owners with type 1 diabetes.
In addition, AILD has raised awareness among numerous institutional and various stakeholders about the problem of diabetes. In the future of the Foundation, greater collaboration with AILD is expected on the front of fund raising as well as on public, educational, epidemiological, preventive, and research activities on diabetes with the aim of achieving permanent and significant support for prevention/cure including management of chronic complications (ie, foot ulcers etc).
The Business World
Collaboration with the business core system is one of the DRF hallmarks. In fact, it was born from the will of an important group of Perugia-based entrepreneurs who were particularly sensitive to issues related to diabetes. For the future, there is a planned expansion/implementation of operative collaborations with national and international biotechnological and biomedical industrial parties, with the ultimate aim of establishing a hybrid Research Consortium that involves institutional, academic, and technical subjects for the achievement of the strategic objectives listed above.
It should be noted that there is already an official operational collaboration between the University of Perugia (Laboratory for Cellular Transplants and Biohybrid Organs) and Altucell Therapeutics Inc. from New York dating back to May 2010 (Altucell Chief Science Officer: Prof. Riccardo Calafiore).
Altucell Therapeutics, in addition to providing initial research funding, back in 2010, has allowed, over the years, for the reallocation of international scientific patents that would otherwise have been lost, and has provided financial support for 2-4 researchers across the last 12 years. Currently, there are two researchers with research fellowships focused on cellular therapies for diabetes and its complications, sponsored by Altucell, who operate in the aforementioned laboratory.
The President of Altucell Therapeutics Gary Harlem has already expressed full availability to interact directly and indirectly with the Foundation. The collaboration with Altucell T. born in 2010, has developed from the beginning on developing methods for complete remission of type 1 diabetes mellitus using advanced cell and molecular therapy technologies. The cells to be used for this purpose can be microencapsulated in a biopolymer, the sodium alginate clinical grade purified at our laboratory as per owned patent, and currently held by Altucell.
Likewise, a local Bio-pharmaceutical Company, Sterling SpA, from Solomeo, has acquired shares of Altucell T. and is already an integrated in the program. Transactions are underway between Altucell T. and USA investment groups that should lead to the acquisition of a robust package of funding for DRF research.
In the past, the Foundation has been fully involved in health prevention and improvement programs, such as the EUROBIS program carried out between 2015-18 on a population of school-age children in the Umbria region to improve their lifestyle from a nutritional and motor point of view.
The future action of the Foundation will be characterized by increasingly favoring the interrelation between the world of business and that of diabetes research and care, with special, though not exclusive regard to the Perugia- and Umbria- based entrepreneurial communities.
Therefore, the Foundation will commit to an important activity of contact with local entrepreneurs in order to develop and implement a productive network of collaborations.
