The Greater Boston Diabetes Cluster

consists of an insulin-carrying device that adheres to the skin under a patient’s shirt; patients control insulin delivery with a handheld device.

MicroCHIPS
Bedford, MA

MicroCHIPS is working on what could be a breakthrough in managing diabetes, a tiny implant that can monitor blood sugar continuously and alert patients when levels fall outside of set limits. The glucose sensor uses reservoir-array technology developed at MIT by CEO John Santini and company co-founders and MIT professors Michael Cima and Bob Langer.

DRUGS

CombinatoRx
Cambridge, MA

CombinatoRx (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CRXX]]) has several drugs in its pipeline based on its platform that combines different drug molecules to form new treatments for different ailments. Indeed, the company’s drug for Type 2 diabetes, now in mid-stage clinical trials, is a combination of an anti-cholesterol drug and a painkilling molecule.

Elixir Pharmaceuticals
Cambridge, MA

Elixir is in the late stages of developing a combination drug for Type 2 diabetes. The startup’s lead diabetes drug, which is a combination of metformin and mitiglinide, is intended to provide both reduce blood sugar levels and provide boosts in insulin production after meals. We wrote more about the latest clinical trial of the drug, which Elixir plans to market under the name Metgluna, late last year.

Escoublac
Cambridge, MA

It’s early days for Escoublac, a startup housed in big biotech Biogen Idec’s incubator near its headquarters in Cambridge, but its research could lead to new drugs for diabetes. Escoublac has licensed technology based of the discovery of

Author: Ryan McBride

Ryan is an award-winning business journalist who contributes to our life sciences and technology coverage. He was previously a staff writer for Mass High Tech, a Boston business and technology newspaper, where he and his colleagues won a national business journalism award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2008. In recent years, he has made regular TV appearances on New England Cable News. Prior to MHT, Ryan covered the life sciences, technology, and energy sectors for Providence Business News. He graduated with honors from the University of Rhode Island in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. When he’s not chasing down news, Ryan enjoys mountain biking and skiing in his home state of Vermont.