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$PMCB If You Like Islet Sciences, You'll Love Pharmacyte Biotech



Islet Sciences Inc. (OTCMKTS:ISLT) shares were all the rage on Monday, but Pharmacyte Biotech Inc. (OTCMKTS:PMCB) remains one of the market's most compelling penny stocks in the diabetes treatment space.

Congratulations to anyone who happened to own Islet Sciences Inc. (OTCMKTS:ISLT) before Friday's close. ISLT shares shot out of the gate on Monday morning, end the day with a 250% gain... proving penny stocks can and do pay off when the timing and story is right. If you're serious about tapping into the next era of diabetes treatments, though, then you may want to lock in what you can while you can with Islet Sciences and then take a closer look at Pharmacyte Biotech Inc. (OTCMKTS:PMCB). It's developing a novel diabetes therapy of its own, and could change the way we think about treating the dreaded disease.

Don't look for any particular reason something news-related lit a fire under ISLT on Monday - you won't find it. Sometimes penny stocks just strike the right cord with the right group of people and develop a life of their own.

That's not to take away from the work Islet Sciences has done. It's work in the area of creating immune-modulating drugs that protect insulin-producing beta-cells from cytokines responsible for cell destruction has been eye-opening, and shows promise. Specifically, Islet Sciences Inc. has found that microencapsulated -- protected -- porcine islets injected into the abdominal cavity can effectively serve as a transplanted pancreas for diabetic patients. What's not clear is the longevity of the encapsulated cells. In trials this far, 85% of transplantees remained insulin-independent at the one-year mark, but a 15% attrition rate in just the first year doesn't necessarily bode well as a long-term fix given the surgery involved.

It's akin to an approach Pharmacyte Biotech is taking to treat diabetes as well, but perhaps with a little more promise.

The technology is called Cell-in-a-Box. Pharmacyte Biotech developed it as a means of depositing living, normally-functioning cells into a particular part of the body where their presence would have a therapeutic effect. In this case, the cells "in the box" would be insulin-producing islet cells placed in the leg near the bloodstream. Just like a patient's own cells would detect the presence of glucose and begin producing insulin, the cells inside the encapsulation are capable of sensing high levels of glucose and produce an appropriate amount of insulin.

The key is the polymer used to encapsulate living cells.

The manufacturing process begins with the mix of live cells (insulin-producing Melligen cells, in this case) and a polymer which are sent through a droplet-forming machine and into a small vat of another proprietary polymer. When the two polymers join, a membrane is formed, with the living cells inside of it. This shell keeps the cells inside, yet lets insulin out, while allowing nutrients in, and waste out. Most important though, the shell keeps the body's own immune system from killing these cells.... something most previous encapsulation approaches didn't do. A handful of these pinhead-sized capsules containing Melligen cells can replace the insulin-producing function of the pancreas from some other site in the body.

Cell-in-a-Box as a therapy for type 1 diabetes is currently in the preclinical testing phase, although it was recently determined to be safe as a means of treating type 1 diabetes by the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. Based on the results witnesses in the preliminary studies at the university, the company aims to move forward with plans that will ultimately result in human trials

It's a major leap forward for diabetics - an encapsulation biotechnology that actually works for the long haul.

There's still work to be done. Cell-in-a-Box as a treatment pathway for type 1 diabetes is currently in the preclinical testing phase, although it was recently determined to be safe as a means of treating type 1 diabetes by the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. Based on the results witnesses in the preliminary studies at the university, the company aims to move forward with plans that will ultimately result in human trials.

And yes, though still in preclinical testing, the premise has been proven safe.

The work will be worth the effort. The diabetes treatment market is worth an estimated $7 billion per year, and Cell-in-a-Box is effectively a cure for it that abates the need for needles. In the meantime, investors are apt to reward the stock as the company achieves critical milestones en route to the endzone.

None of this is to take away from what Islet Sciences has done, or any other penny stocks of companies working on diabetes therapies. All that other work, however, underscores just how game-changing PMCB could be in the world of diabetes.