ABOUT US
Company Overview
Driving the future of diabetes care, Insu Therapeutics is at the forefront of revolutionizing insulin administration.
Who We Are
Company Profile
Insu Therapeutics is an innovative UBC research-spinoff company redefining diabetes treatment with patent-pending, novel non-invasive insulin delivery technology, targeting the daily challenges of over 9 million ref.1 type 1 diabetics and the broader needs of over half a billion people with diabetes globally.
​
The Insu buccal insulin tablet has demonstrated successful results in animal trials and is able to be equally absorbed in comparison to traditional injections. Furthermore, the Insu tablet is shelf-stable, eliminating the need for refrigeration and reducing environmental impact with less plastic waste, resulting in a more sustainable supply chain and broader accessibility to insulin.
​
Leveraging safe and known FDA-approved drugs in a new dosage form, Insu Therapeutics is on an accelerated pathway to commercialization, with Phase I and II clinical trials slated for 2024 and 2025. As we expand to address the high demand for effective insulin treatments, Insu Therapeutics intends to initiate R&D on other peptide drugs and set up Canada's first insulin manufacturing facility in the future.
Our Vision and Mission
Our vision is to become the industry leader in providing patients with viable alternatives to injectables medicines, and our mission is to make peptide–based medicines orally available to all patients.
Our Technology
Insu Therapeutics' buccal insulin technology is at Technology Readiness Level 5, having demonstrated efficacy in simulated settings using diabetic Wistar rat models. Rigorous in-vitro and in-vivo tests confirmed its effectiveness, with buccal insulin tablets showing a comparable onset of action to injected insulin.
Notably, buccal insulin outperformed injections in sustained blood glucose reduction beyond 2 hours. Our approach ensures nearly 100% of the insulin is directed to the liver, addressing previous challenges of oral insulin accumulating in the stomach.
We are now progressing to larger animal trials, targeting FDA approval for Phase-I clinical trials. Phase I and II trials are slated for 2024 and 2025, respectively.
%20insulin%20tablet%202_Karen%20Lee.png)
Recent Interview
Management Team
Dr. Anubhav Pratap-Singh
(Chief Executive Officer)
Dr. Anubhav Pratap-Singh, the Endowed Professor and Director, BC Food & Beverage Innovation Centre, at UBC's Faculty of Land & Food Systems, is at the forefront of pioneering research in food and bioproduct technologies. His work has resulted in more than 7 patents and 100 peer-reviewed publications in the field of novel processing technologies and novel drug delivery pathways. A former Banting Fellow, Dr. Pratap-Singh’s most notable inventions include a buccal delivery method for insulin and other peptides, inhalable respiratory enzymes for CoVID, spray freeze drying of proteins, biodegradable packaging materials, a dietary fiber based fat replacer, gels for treatment of periodontal diseases etc. Dr. Pratap-Singh's affiliations include leadership roles at the UBC-Vancouver senate, Food Hub Network Academic Coordination Committee, the British Columbia Food Technologists’ Association (BCFT), the Canadian Institute of Food Science & Technology (CIFST), and Editorial roles in Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group), Applied Food Research (Elsevier) and Measurement Foods (Elsevier).
Ammad Shorbaji
(Chief Operating & Business Officer)
Mr. Ammad Shorbaji holds a BSC in Pharmacy and brings extensive experience in regulatory affairs and biopharmaceutical sales and marketing. Ammad was previously Senior Manager, Scouting and Partnerships North America at Sanofi. He has a 25-year history with Sanofi where his scope of work spanned drug and medical device approvals, product reimbursement, regulatory strategy, pre-clinical and clinical product development as well as licensing and acquisitions. Prior to his role in the pharmaceutical industry, Ammad began his career as a pharmacist based in the US.
Dr. Tom Elliot, MBBS, FRCPC
(Medical Director)
Dr. Tom Elliot is the Medical Director at BC Diabetes. Dr. Tom Elliott earned his MBBS from the University of Queensland in 1982 and later specialized in Endocrinology & Metabolism, obtaining his FRCPC certification from the Royal College of Physicians of Canada. Since 1992, he's been affiliated with Vancouver General Hospital and UBC, where he currently holds the title of Clinical Associate Professor. Dr. Elliott founded BC Diabetes in 2007, an institution dedicated to the 300,000+ British Columbians with diabetes, with 18 staff and a unique case-management care model. Passionate about diabetes technology and advocacy, he has authored 73 scientific papers and is actively engaged in 15 ongoing research projects, emphasizing areas like early intervention and smart diabetes management systems.
Dr. Yigong Guo
Dr. Yigong Guo is a researcher at the Food Process Engineering Laboratory (FPEL) within the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. He earned his PhD in Food Science from the University of British Columbia, Canada, and his MS and BS in Pharmacy from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. Dr. Guo's primary research focus is on the utilization of lipid-based enhancers to increase the transmucosal bioavailability of encapsulated drug delivery systems, specifically nano-emulsions and liposomes. His work has potential implications for optimizing drug delivery methods.
Dr. Anika Singh
Dr. Anika Singh, a Senior Scientist with a PhD in Food Science and Agriculture Chemistry from McGill University, is the Project Leader for the Natural Health Products research group, at the Centre for Applied Research and Innovation at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, and also holds an Adjunct Professor position at the UBC's Faculty of Land and Food Systems. With 10 years of R&D experience, Dr. Singh's expertise spans food processing, analytical chemistry, allergen control, and quality assurance in the food and pharmaceutical sectors. She has published >50 peer-reviewed articles and presented at 20 international conferences.