BDAZ thank you for your insight...always appreciated.

I have copied some analyst thoughts on this trial for some extra detail for those who may be interested in what they're doing:

Scott McAuley - Paradigm Securities wrote the following:

Some details on the patient numbers:

5 of 7 patients are currently enrolled in the study.

5 of 7 patients have been implanted with the Cell Pouch.

3 of 7 patients have received their first/one islet transplant. Islets are the pancreatic cells that produce insulin. The cells in this trial are from human donors and the patients require immunosuppressive drugs so that the immune system doesn’t attack the donor cells. 

2 of 7 patients have received their first and second islet transplant. These would be the patients that the company has seen the insulin free patient and the absence of severe hypoglycemic events.

The remaining 2 patients are actively being pre-screened to complete trial enrolment. The company expects to complete enrolment by the end of the quarter.

The trial will follow the safety and efficacy of these patients for a year to gather longer-term safety and efficacy data.

Some comps:

Sigilon Therapeutics (SGTX) | Market Cap US$1.1B | Is in the early stages of an 18-patient clinical trial for their cell therapy for treating hemophilia. They don’t use a similar Cell Pouch technology but instead inject the therapeutic cells straight into the patient’s abdomen. 

Sana Therapeutics (private) | Filed its S-1 earlier this week after privately raising $900M over the past two years, despite still being a year or two from a clinical trial. They are targeting a number of indications with their cell therapy treatment, but also don’t have a Cell Pouch-like platform. 

Semma Therapeutics (private) | Bought by Vertex (VRTX) in September 2019 for US$950M in cash | They have a device that is similar to the Cell Pouch for cell therapies, but their device has been plagued by fibrosis (scarring) and other challenges when implanted in patients.