Pancreatic Islets Quality and Potency Cannot be Verified as Required for Drugs: Reflection on the FDA Review of a Biological License Application for Human Islets

The Last Mile in Beta-Cell Replacement Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes: Time to Grow Up

Beta cell replacement therapy for type 1 diabetes (T1D) is undergoing a transformative shift, driven by advances in stem cell biology, gene editing, and tissue engineering. While islet transplantation has demonstrated proof-of-concept success in restoring endogenous insulin production, its clinical impact remains limited by donor scarcity, immune rejection, and procedural complexities. The emergence of stem cell-derived beta-like cells represents a paradigm shift, with initial clinical trials showing promising insulin secretion in vivo. However, translating these breakthroughs into scalable, widely accessible treatments poses significant challenges. Drawing parallels to space exploration, this paper argues that while scientific feasibility has been demonstrated, true accessibility remains elusive. Without a strategic shift, beta cell therapy risks becoming an elite intervention, restricted by cost and infrastructure. Lessons from gene and cell therapies for rare diseases highlight the dangers of unsustainable pricing and limited market viability. To bridge the "last mile" a Quality by Design approach is proposed, emphasizing scalability, ease of use, and economic feasibility from the outset. By emphasizing practical implementation over academic achievements, corporate interests, market economics, or patent constraints, beta cell therapy can progress from proof-of-concept to a viable, widely accessible treatment.

Demise of cadaveric islet transplantation in the USA: Quo Vadis, 1 year after BLA approval and 24 years after the Edmonton breakthrough?

More than a year after the Biological License Application (BLA) approval for CellTrans, cadaveric islet transplantation remains in demise in the United States (U.S.). While the therapy is unavailable to Americans, it is already a standard of care procedure in other countries, including Canada, Australia, and many in Europe. This article discusses the challenges stemming from an outdated regulatory framework in the U.S. concerning cadaveric islet transplantation. It also presents advocacy efforts by the transplant community for appropriate regulatory adjustments and discusses future perspectives.

Advances and challenges of the cell-based therapies among diabetic patients

Diabetes mellitus is a significant global public health challenge, with a rising prevalence and associated morbidity and mortality. Cell therapy has evolved over time and holds great potential in diabetes treatment. In the present review, we discussed the recent progresses in cell-based therapies for diabetes that provides an overview of islet and stem cell transplantation technologies used in clinical settings, highlighting their strengths and limitations. We also discussed immunomodulatory strategies employed in cell therapies. Therefore, this review highlights key progresses that pave the way to design transformative treatments to improve the life quality among diabetic patients.

Islets Transplantation at a Crossroads - Need for Urgent Regulatory Update in the United States: Perspective Presented During the Scientific Sessions 2021 at the American Diabetes Association Congress

Clinical islet allotransplantation has been successfully regulated as tissue/organ for transplantation in number of countries and is recognized as a safe and efficacious therapy for selected patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. However, in the United States, the FDA considers pancreatic islets as a biologic drug, and islet transplantation has not yet shifted from the experimental to the clinical arena for last 20 years. In order to transplant islets, the FDA requires a valid Biological License Application (BLA) in place. The BLA process is costly and lengthy. However, despite the application of drug manufacturing technology and regulations, the final islet product sterility and potency cannot be confirmed, even when islets meet all the predetermined release criteria. Therefore, further regulation of islets as drugs is obsolete and will continue to hinder clinical application of islet transplantation in the US. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network together with the United Network for Organ Sharing have developed separately from the FDA and BLA regulatory framework for human organs under the Human Resources & Services Administration to assure safety and efficacy of transplantation. Based on similar biologic characteristics of islets and human organs, we propose inclusion of islets into the existing regulatory framework for organs for transplantation, along with continued FDA oversight for islet processing, as it is for other cell/tissue products exempt from BLA. This approach would reassure islet quality, efficacy and access for Americans with diabetes to this effective procedure.