Three diabetes-related research projects at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota land more than $1.8 million in state funds in a research initiative to prevent, treat and cure diabetes.
The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology & Medical Genomics’ Decade of Discovery’s $1.86 million grant will fund the creation of anti-obesity drugs, explore immune-based diabetes treatments and advance the development of an artificial pancreas.
"The goal of the ‘Decade of Discovery’ is to conquer diabetes and these projects, developed by collaborative teams of outstanding scientists from the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic, will go a long way towards doing that," Elizabeth Seaquist, Decade co-leader, said in prepared remarks.
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Nearly half of the funds are headed to a research project focused on developing an anti-obesity drug. Project leaders Alessandro Bartolomucci, of the University of Minnesota, and Mayo Clinic endocrinologist John Miles will use the $875,000 to develop a drug based on a peptide shown to prevent obesity in mice and increase fat decomposition.
The team working on a specialized glucose monitoring chip for the Mayo Clinic’s artificial pancreas won $500,000 from the Decade of Discovery grant.
The graphene chip will function wirelessly and last longer than other sensors, making it more reliable, stable and accurate than other sensors on the market, according to the Mayo clinic.
The third team won $486,368 to study Type I diabetes in transgenic mouse models.
"Using the resources from the Minnesota Partnership, we expect to see major advances in both diabetes treatment and prevention as a result of this work," said Seaquist.
A research team from Worcester Polytechnic Institute won a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a smart phone app for people with advanced diabetes.
Sanofi’s (NYSE:SNY) iPhone glucose meter, the iBGStar, landed 510(k) clearance from the FDA last week, making it the first iPhone glucose meter to win a nod from the federal watchdog agency.
Here’s a roundup of other dealflow and investment news:
Sotera raises $12.2M in anticipation of 2012 clearance
San Diego-Calif.-based Sotera Wireless raises $12.2 million in a Series D financing round led by Singapore-based global fund EDB investments in anticipation of a 2012 clearance of its ViSi Mobile system. Read more
TransEnterix raises $15M for minimally invasive surgical device
TransEnterix closed on a $15 million financing round as it builds sales for its Spider minimally invasive surgical system. Read more
CSA closes $20.5M in Series B
CSA Medical Inc. closed $20.5 million in a Series B financing round to fund the growth of its Spray Cryotherapy system. Read more
Lux Biosciences raises $4M
Ophthalmic diseases treatment developer Lux Biosciences raised $4 million of a sought after $4.35 in its latest round of financing. Read more
LifeServe wins $75K grant
Tracheotomy device company LifeServe Innovations landed a $75,000 grant from the Innovation Fund of the Lorain Country Community College Foundation. Read more
CID Capital invests in Westone Laboratories
Colorado Springs-based Westone Laboratories Inc. entered into a funding agreement with CID Capital private equity group. Read more
Spectrum and Trident back HealthMEDX
Health software company HealthMEDX lands $56 million in investments from private equity firm Spectrum Equity and venture capital firm Trident Capital. Read more