A New Drug Could Prevent Nighttime Hypoglycemia

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Imagine there are medications you can take every day to protect you from hypoglycemia. Drugs that only worked when needed.

Zucara TherapeuticsFounded in 2014, the Toronto company is developing drugs that could protect adults living with type 1 diabetes from low nighttime prices. Today they are We are recruiting participants for new clinical trials.

Diabetes, alpha cells, and delta cells

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system attacks and destroys beta cells, or cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. If you live in type 1, you already know this. What you may not know is that type 1 diabetes prevents the way other important cells in the pancreas also function.

As you know, the pancreas also has alpha, delta, gamma, and epsilon cells. All of these serve as a proper balance between health and hormones. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/pmc5867580/ ))

In particular, alpha cells and delta cells are supposed to chat regularly with beta cells to prevent hypoglycemia.

However, this communication is not happening when you live with type 1 diabetes. This dysfunction is the cause of hypoglycemia (hypoglycemia) events.

In people without diabetes, the liver responds to blood sugar levels by releasing more or less sugar to keep the body safe. However, in type 1 people, dysfunction of alpha and delta cells means that the liver cannot respond in the same way. When blood sugar levels stop dropping, the liver does not release excess sugar to prevent hypoglycemia.

Zucara’s ZT-01

Zucara’s therapeutic therapy, ZT-01, is the first drug therapy of its kind to prevent hypoglycemia in people taking insulin to manage diabetes.

ZT-01 is an injectable drug intended to instruct delta cells to reduce the production of somatostatin, which inhibits alpha cells. By suppressing somatostatin, your alpha cells can do better what they should do: produce glucagon. ZT-01 can enhance the body’s ability to release stored sugar when blood sugar levels are below healthy levels.

“We know from research that people with type 1 diabetes don’t release glucagon properly,” says Zucara’s CEO. Michael Midmer. “Our drugs can turn on its alpha cell function and glucagon production.”

The ZT-01 still has years of development. To date, it’s done Phase 1 clinical trial. Small trials should be performed to test safety before drugmakers can actually test the efficacy of new experimental therapies.

“Building biotechnology with drugs is a long way to go. You have to go through every step, and it takes time,” says Midmer. “In 2016, this was just an idea.”

Safety was the focus, but the Phase 1 trials also helped to demonstrate that ZT-01 may be able to prevent hypoglycemia or hypoglycemia. It has proven effective in restoring the body’s reactive production of glucagon, which causes the release of glucose in the liver, to prevent hypoglycemia. ZT-01 increased glucagon concentrations in 90% of participants.

In the next experiment, a large-scale phase 2 study, Zucara learns whether ZT-01 can prevent blood glucose levels. Ultimately, it helps answer the question, “Does this improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes?”

Zucara is focused on overnight lows as it is very destructive and potentially very dangerous for many people with type 1 diabetes. That injection lasts 10-12 hours, but we want to develop a formula that will last for the long-lasting.

“Now, now,” explains Midmar. “How the drug is delivered, I feel I can cover the nighttime, but I’ll monitor the next day. It’s a peptide, not a long action. We’ll now work with companies to develop weekly drug dosages. Ideally, it’s a slow release, once a week.”

Clinical trial participation criteria

Zucara needs someone with type 1 diabetes to volunteer at the next trial. Here are some things you need to know about participating. You can qualify for Zucara’s Phase 2 Clinical Trial if: