New Collaboration Aims to Make Islet Transplantation More Accessible for Type 1 Diabetes

Continuity Biosciences, a clinical-stage biotech company, and Breakthrough T1D, an international research and funding organization, announced a new partnership in March 2026. The collaboration focuses on accelerating development of the NICHE biomedical platform, a technology designed to support pancreatic islet transplantation in people with type 1 diabetes.

The partnership operates under Breakthrough T1D's Industry Discovery and Development Partnership (IDDP) program, which brings together nonprofit funding expertise with company innovation to advance T1D treatments.

The NICHE platform is an implantable device developed by Continuity Biosciences. It is designed to enable controlled, long-term delivery of drugs and to support immune system modulation—both critical factors in making islet transplantation successful and sustainable.

Pancreatic islet transplantation involves transferring insulin-producing cells from a donor into a person with type 1 diabetes. One major challenge has been helping the body accept and protect these transplanted cells over time.

The collaboration will follow a step-by-step development pathway. Breakthrough T1D will provide funding and regulatory support to help Continuity prepare the NICHE platform for human testing.

First, the partnership will focus on IND-enabling activities—work required by regulators to ensure safety before testing a new treatment in people. Following that, the two organizations will prepare for a Phase 1/2a clinical study, which would be the first-in-human evaluation of the technology.

This structured approach allows researchers to build on earlier laboratory results while maintaining high standards for safety and manufacturing quality.

Islet transplantation has shown promise for people with difficult-to-manage type 1 diabetes, but barriers remain: limited donor availability, the need for lifelong immunosuppression, and the complexity of the procedure itself.

By advancing technologies like NICHE that may improve transplant outcomes and reduce complications, researchers aim to make islet transplantation a practical option for more people. This collaboration represents part of the broader research landscape exploring new ways to restore insulin production in type 1 diabetes.

Origin: i3p.it (News report). Evidence: News report — unverified, pending corroboration. Type1Cure is an information and intelligence hub, not a medical advice service. This article summarizes published research and does not provide diagnosis, treatment, or personal medical guidance. Always talk to your own care team before changing anything about your Type 1 diabetes management.