Over 100 years ago, insulin was discovered here in Canada, in the labs of the University of Toronto, where Frederick Banting, Charles Best, James Collip and J.J.R. Macleod changed the fate of millions in one of modern medicine鈥檚 most storied breakthroughs.
Today, approximately 300,000 Canadians are living with Type 1 diabetes, a number growing by an estimated 4.4% each year. Globally, Type 1 diabetes affects an estimated 9.5 million people. Unlike Type 2 Diabetes, which typically develops when the body becomes resistant to insulin or does not produce enough of it, Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
For people living with Type 1 diabetes, managing the disease is both time-consuming and mentally taxing. Type 1 diabetes patients must routinely monitor their blood glucose, administer insulin, and calculate carbohydrates carefully. If blood sugar remains too high for too long, it can gradually damage blood vessels and nerves. If it drops too low, it can trigger a dangerous hypoglycemic episode. Beyond daily monitoring, these patients are also at an increased risk of developing serious long-term complications including neuropathy, coronary heart disease, retinopathy, and kidney disease.
In Canada, transplanting insulin-producing islet cells from donor pancreata is an approved therapy, but it remains available to only a small number of patients (as of 2025, only about 2,500 patients around the world have successfully undergone this treatment). Donor organs are scarce, and more than half of transplanted cells die soon after infusion due to the inflammatory reaction and subsequent oxygen deprivation.
Even when the transplant succeeds, recipients must take lifelong immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection. Cellterix, a biotechnology company and winner of the Desjardins Deploy Award in the fifth cohort of the 海角社区 Innovation Fund (MIF), developed its novel vascularized cell encapsulation technology to address these critical limitations.
The Technology behind Cellterix
The central problem in cell transplantation for Type 1 diabetes has always been a stubborn trade-off. Encapsulating donor cells or engineered islets behind a protective barrier shields them from immune attack, but that same barrier cuts off the blood supply needed for the cells to survive and function resulting in less effective therapeutic effect. Without a continuous flow of oxygen and nutrients, up to half of transplanted cells can die shortly after surgery. Previous devices either relied on surface vascularization, which proved insufficient, or waited for the body to slowly generate new vessels around the graft; a process too slow to keep highly metabolically demanding islet cells alive.
Cellterix鈥檚 device is designed to surgically connect to existing blood vessels, establishing immediate, active flow聽the moment it is implanted. Blood moves through it continuously, nourishing the cells and carrying insulin directly into the circulation, while an encapsulating material shields the graft from direct contact with blood components that cause thrombosis and the proinflammatory cells of the immune system, challenging the notion that encapsulation devices acting as immune barriers cannot simultaneously provide efficient blood flow.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 unique about this device is that the blood supply is immediate,鈥� explained Professor Corinne Hoesli, cofounder and CSO of Cellterix. 鈥淵ou create immediate blood flow through the device. But you still don鈥檛 have direct contact between the transplanted cells and the immune system.鈥�
The technology behind Cellterix has a long research history. Professor Hoesli received her first Diab猫te Qu茅bec grant in 2014, which funded early experiments with sugar 3D printing and insulin-producing cells. After years refining the fabrication process, testing different coating strategies, and identifying the right transplant-grade polymer, polycarbonate urethane, the same class of material used in dialysis access grafts, was chosen for its durability and compatibility with the body (results of their research were announced earlier this year).
Bridging Science with Commercialization
The support of the 海角社区 Innovation Fund has been vital in shaping Cellterix from a project into a biotech startup. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an excellent opportunity for students to get their first taste of entrepreneurship,鈥� said Demetry Prezelj, CTO of Cellterix. 鈥淪tudents get to learn a lot about things that are glossed over and not really mentioned in laboratories.鈥�
The mentorship and support provided by MIF also helped the team bridge the gap between science and commercialization. 鈥� I think academic research is incredibly strong in theory, science, and discovery,鈥� Prezelj said. 鈥� But one important challenge is making sure that promising ideas are also grounded in real-world feasibility. You have the theory, science, knowledge, but can this realistically be translated beyond the lab? And if so, what steps are needed to make it safe and practical enough to truly help people?鈥�
Hoesli, too, highlights the key role the 海角社区 ecosystem has played in advancing this work. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not many places where they perform islet transplantation in Canada 鈥� there are four,鈥� Hoesli noted. 鈥淚n Quebec, the only place is the 海角社区 Health Centre. Having the support of the 海角社区 ecosystem is crucial 鈥� especially the medical part.鈥�
Further adding to the team鈥檚 depth was the recent addition of CEO Craig Hasilo. He brings over 21 years of experience spanning clinical islet transplantation, cell manufacturing, medical device development and leadership in national biomanufacturing and cell therapy initiatives. This includes co-founding Sernova Corp (now Sernova Biomedical), which went public in 2008. According to Hasilo, the MIF鈥檚 backing has positioned the company to pursue the larger funding rounds needed to bring its technology toward clinical validation.
鈥淣ow the challenge is we鈥檙e going to have to find a way to raise at least $10 million overall to get to the point where we can start to generate some clinical data,鈥� Hasilo said. 鈥淢IF has been the spearhead for it all. It鈥檚 the reason that everything happened. Now we need to tap into the ecosystem, tap into the different funding mechanisms, and create a robust company with a lot of viability behind it.鈥�
Hasilo hails from London, Ontario, also the hometown of Frederick Banting who formed part of the duo that identified insulin over a century ago. 鈥淲e have this undeniable legacy,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd it feels like we should champion this effort.鈥�
