Genprex collaborators present positive preclinical data of GPX-002 in diabetes

Genprex’s (GNPX) research collaborators presented positive preclinical data from studies of GPX-002, the company’s diabetes gene therapy drug candidate, at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy’s Annual Meeting May 13-17 in New Orleans. In the oral presentation, researchers evaluated the immune response to direct infusion of recombinant adeno-associated virus, or rAAV, into the pancreatic duct of Non-Human Primates with streptozotocin-induced diabetes and evaluated how to best manage immune responses. One-month post-infusion, NHPs showed improved glucose tolerance and reduced insulin requirements. However, discontinuation of immunosuppression, or IS, at 3 months post-infusion led to an immune response afterwards, indicating that IS in NHPs may need to be continued longer. In conclusion, the novel rAAV gene therapy demonstrated that infusion of rAAV directly into the pancreatic duct of NHPs improves glucose tolerance but induces an anti-viral immune response which can degrade the improvement in glucose tolerance. The anti-viral immune response in NHPs can be largely prevented by administration of a multi-agent IS that leads to sustained therapeutic effects. Researchers are continuing preclinical studies of GPX-002 therapy in NHP models of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes to generate additional data.