JDRF Funds Zucara Therapeutics’ Approach to Preventing Hypoglycemia in People with Type 1 Diabetes

NEW YORK & TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– As Global Biotech Week begins in more than 20 countries, JDRF, the
leading organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, is pleased
to announce that it will contribute funding to Canada’s Zucara
Therapeutics Inc., a pre-clinical life sciences company advancing a
novel therapeutic approach to prevent hypoglycemia in patients with
diabetes.

This funding builds on JDRF’s previous support of the work of Dr.
Michael Riddell of York University and Dr. Richard Liggins of The Centre
for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), founding scientists behind
Zucara. With this new investment Zucara will be in a position to advance
its lead clinical drug candidate through IND-enabling studies, readying
it for clinical testing beginning in 2019.

The Zucara technology is aimed at creating the first treatment to
prevent dangerous low blood sugar by restoring the body’s ability to
counter-regulate hypoglycemia. This approach will reduce the likelihood
of insulin therapy to cause hypoglycemia without affecting its efficacy.
The immediate patient benefits would include the reduced occurrence of
hypoglycemia and its associated acute symptoms and effects. This in turn
would allow those with T1D to better regulate their blood sugar levels
with insulin, resulting in better overall health outcomes in the long
term.

Richard Liggins, Ph.D., Zucara Therapeutics’ chief scientific officer
and principal investigator for the JDRF funding remarked, “The initial
support provided by JDRF allowed us to establish the proof-of-principle
for the technology, and now this new investment by JDRF will allow this
innovation to be further advanced toward commercialization and patient
use. By working with a leading partner like JDRF, Zucara is poised to
change the lives of diabetes patients around the world.”

“JDRF is committed to preventing hypoglycemia, which is a leading danger
to the health of people with type 1 diabetes and the main barrier to
achieving glucose control. Zucara has successfully shown
proof-of-principle in animal models of diabetes, and JDRF is proud to
support preclinical studies of its drug candidate to potentially prevent
hypoglycemia and improve the quality of life for millions of people with
T1D,” said Marlon Pragnell, Ph.D., JDRF senior scientist, Research.

ABOUT JDRF
JDRF is the leading global organization funding
type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Our mission is to accelerate
life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its
complications. To accomplish this, JDRF has invested more than $2
billion in research funding since our inception. We are an organization
built on a grassroots model of people connecting in their local
communities, collaborating regionally for efficiency and broader
fundraising impact, and uniting on a national stage to pool resources,
passion, and energy. We collaborate with academic institutions,
policymakers, and corporate and industry partners to develop and deliver
a pipeline of innovative therapies to people living with T1D. Our staff
and volunteers throughout the United States and our six international
affiliates are dedicated to advocacy, community engagement and our
vision of a world without T1D. For more information, please visit jdrf.org
or follow us on Twitter: @JDRF.

About Zucara Therapeutics Inc.
Zucara Therapeutics, a
spin-off of The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) and MaRS
Innovation (MI), is developing the first drug therapy to prevent
hypoglycemia in people with diabetes. The Company’s first-in-class
therapeutic is aimed at inhibiting a hormone in the pancreas called
somatostatin, which does not function properly in Type 1 diabetes.
Preventing hypoglycemia will dramatically change diabetes disease
management, improving both patient health and quality of life. www.zucara.ca

About Global Biotech Week
The purpose of Global Biotech Week
is to raise awareness of the industry and its global potential among
policymakers, policy influencers and the general public more broadly.
What began in 2003 as a modest string of advocacy and awareness events
across Canada gained traction and snowballed into EuropaBio establishing
their own annual week of events in 2013. Today, whether in United
States, Europe, Australia, Canada or elsewhere, biotech innovation is
becoming increasingly central to the global competitiveness of the
industries and sectors that form the economic foundation of economies. www.globalbiotechweek.ca/
#GBW2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170921005110/en/