Did 'Sana Biotechnology' Just Hack Diabetes ?
Recently, I came across a subject that I was somewhat familiar with - diabetes- but was not at all aware of its intricacies. Sana Biotechnology’s research into potentially curing Type-1 diabetes got me hooked, and I decided to dig deeper. Throughout the past few days, it has been a heated topic of discussion with many speculating whether the company has truly developed an effective cure. One tweet I saw, posted by Martin Shkreli, joked about how breakthroughs like this are often overshadowed by the shitcoins.
P.S. I am a proud bag holder of $FartCoin..because , why not?
So, let’s not get sidetracked and dive into this. On Jan 7th, Sana Biotechnology announced the results of its UP421 therapy trial for Type 1 diabetes. Their stock which was casually chilling at $1.5 decided to go to the gym and went steroidal up to $4.30 by the next day. This marked a striking 2.5x, indicating a strong FOMO rush.
Before we get into the trial results, let’s just talk about diabetes. Most people think that it is just about skipping desserts. But honestly, there is much more to it. As per the International Diabetes Federation, around 536 million people across the globe are living with diabetes.
[Image source: Statista, International Diabetes Federation]
In monetary terms, the total direct medical costs incurred in the United States alone were $306.6 billion in 2022. FYI, this figure is higher than Finland’s GDP in 2022. And mind me, these are just the direct costs. On a micro scale, an individual spends an average of $12,022 directly to diabetes related care.
The financial toll doesn’t stop here. Diabetes also costs the US an enormous $100 billion in lost productivity. It’s akin to attending a college lecture but being mentally checked out. Finally on a global level, the financial costs incurred due to diabetes are set to soar to $2.5 trillion by 2030. This should be enough to justify it’s economic regressive effects apart from the health tolls.
[Source: American Diabetes Association, "Economic Costs of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2022" (2023)]
Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. Essentially, the body loses the ability to generate blood sugar regulators, which is why people are told to skip sugary stuff.
Back to Sana’s big moment, their UP421 therapy targets to address this by replacing the destroyed beta cells with genetically modified cells from human donors. Now, this is not entirely something out of the box. There have been trials conducted in the past which have also used the donor cells for transplant. However, what sets this therapy apart is that it doesn’t require immunosuppressants.
Typically, islet transplants used to rely on immunosuppressants to prevent the immune system from attacking the newly transplanted cells. These suppressants had to be taken for a prolonged period of time, mostly indefinitely. But Sana’s therapy managed to evade through the immune system without the need for the lifelong medications.
The results from the initial trial were extremely promising: no safety issues and the modified cells were producing insulin without being attacked by the immune system. But, here’s the catch: the results are fresh out of the oven. These results just came out 4 weeks after the clinical trial, so long term efficacy is TBD. And let’s not forget- it is just based on one person.
While it is too early to celebrate, the stock market has already popped the champagne. Morgan Stanley has raised their price target for $SANA, which has more optimism around it than my new year’s resolution.
If the UP421 works in the long run, trust me, it can have far reaching implications, not just for diabetes, but for the whole medical industry.
Alright smarties, if you pondered earlier on why the term ‘human donors’ was highlighted in bold, you are definitely gonna make it. If not, well, now you know. I highlighted it as the UP421 therapy requires human donors for the cells, limiting it’s scale. That is a significant hinderance for something with game changing potential.
But you know what, here’s the exciting part- Sana Biotech is already working on a solution: their SC451 therapy
Now, I am not great at forging analogies, but I cooked something especially for y’all. For once, imagine solving world hunger by creating a "super crop" that grows anywhere.
Project A (like UP421): Genetically modify wheat to be more resilient. You plant it in a harsh environment, and it still thrives—proof that resilient crops can work!
Project B (like SC451): Design an entirely new, perfect crop in the lab, built from the ground up.
The UP421 is like the first batch of fried chicken - it’s a proof that the recipe has the potential even if the first batch is not crispy. The SC451 consists of growing synthetic cells in the lab rather than sourcing from human donors. While the chances of it succeeding right now are quite slim, please don’t forget that we are living in an era where lab grown meat is real and rockets are being caught using chopsticks. All the biotech breakthroughs of the past suggest that the inflection point is closer than we think.
Additionally, this could potentially alter the way organs are transplanted. The HIP technology that powers this islet transplant completely eliminates the need for immunosuppressants - the meds which significantly increase the complexity by increasing the infection risk and delaying healing.
Imagine a future where all the people are free from diabetes. Wait, scratch that- imagine a future where everyone is healthy. Free of diseases. Cancer? Gone. We genetically engineer food so that it is accessible to all. While this thinking is too far fetched, it is always great to look back and reflect on how far we’ve come in just the past 20 years.
As Arthur C. Clarke, once said:
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
With constant innovations, we will soon turn magic into reality.