Funded by a $6.2 million grant from the Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation (DRWF) and constructed by Ryan Companies, U.S., the DRWF Islet Resource Facility is a biosecure animal facility in Western Wisconsin that will breed and maintain high-health, pathogen-free pigs that will become source of insulin-producing islet cells for human transplantation.

Since the medical milestone in March (reported in Nature Medicine) by Dr. Bernhard Hering (a world-renowned diabetes expert and Scientific Director of the Diabetes Institute for Immunology & Transplantation at the University of Minnesota) and his team: pig islet cell transplantation yielding long-term diabetes reversal in monkeys; the demand for high-health pig islets has significantly increased.

According to Dr. Bernhard Hering:

"Human islet cell transplants have reversed diabetes in 90 percent of our recipients. However, the shortage of human donor organs greatly limits the applicability of islet transplants. Pig islets will solve this demand issue and are at the forefront of a far-reaching cure for patients with diabetes."

The 21,000 square-foot bio-secure facility, whose animal population is being handled by the Spring Point Project (a non-profit organization created to expedite the widespread availability of islet tissue for diabetes care) will be home approximately 100 high-health, 'medical-grade' pigs that will provide pig islets to be used for human transplantation in diabetes clinical trials in the near future.

According to Dr. Henk-Jan Schuurman, CEO of Spring Point Project:

"We had a favorable response from the FDA on the design and operations of this building. Now, our goal is to be ready for clinical trials within three years, and to provide an FDA-approved standard treatment soon thereafter. We are very pleased that the first animals in the facility meet the high-health standards."

Find more details from the full report.