INVENT 2024 Finalist Profile: Dia Beta Labs Ltd

Founders name: Dr. Ryan Lafferty, Prof. Peter Flatt, Prof. Nigel Irwin, Prov. Finbarr O'Harte, Prof. Peter Simpson, Prof. Victor Gault

What is your background?

My background is originally in community pharmacy where I worked in a very patient-facing role for a number of years.

My interest in metabolic diseases was piqued when I was given the opportunity to work with a diabetes-centred startup in 2015. Witnessing first-hand the difference that innovation made to the lives of patients inspired me to pursue a PhD in antidiabetic research at Ulster University.

During my time within the Diabetes Research Group at Ulster, and with the aid of many of my co-founders, I developed a number of the therapeutic candidates that have been carried through to Dia Beta Labs.

Upon completion of my PhD studies I was given an opportunity to participate in the Innovate UK accelerator program, ICURe (Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research). This allowed validation of a market for novel medicines for metabolic diseases and honed my commercial skill-set to spin out Dia Beta Labs from UU and continue championing the molecules I have developed.

What problem are you solving?

Some 2 billion people globally are obese or at risk of becoming so, placing them at risk of developing numerous co-morbidities such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, sight loss or lower limb amputation. Indeed, metabolic diseases are estimated to cost the global economy over a trillion dollars annually but 80% of this cost is driven by the occurrence of complications of disease, rather than direct management costs.

Currently available therapies are subject to high discontinuation rates with over 70% discontinuing within 24-months of initiation. Moreover, currently available medications do not reverse dysfunction in disease a likely driver of why only 16% of type 2 diabetic patients on currently available medicines are meeting their disease management targets.

DBL candidates reverse cellular dysfunction in insulin producing cells of the pancreas, provide targeted fat loss and are more tolerable than current weight loss options.

Our therapeutic candidates can reduce the overall economic burden of metabolic disease through a reduction of the occurrence of complications brought about by: reversal of disease progression, improved patient compliance through reduced side-effects and therapeutic benefits which are maintained beyond 24 months.

Who and where are your potential customers?

Dia Beta Labs intend to partner with a large Pharma partner with a significant experience of human trials in the metabolic disease space. The largest single metabolic disease market lies in USA and in-tandem, our ideal partner companies are either headquartered or have substantial presence within the US.

We have already begun engaging with potential partners to harbour these relationships.

What do you think is the potential for your business?

Dia Beta Labs is a high potential business in a rapidly expanding metabolic disease market. It is anticipated that the combined metabolic disease market will exceed $110 bn annually by the end of this decade, which is being driven by the popularity of GLP-1 analogues, most notably Ozempic.

Given the high discontinuation rates and concerns over loss of muscle tied to Ozempic and related GLP-1 drugs, the market is crying out for differentiated targets to treat metabolic diseases.

Dia Beta Labs possess a pipeline of highly novel medications against previously undetermined targets in metabolic disease, placing us in a strong position for growth. Further, our data in animal models of disease indicate our lead molecule produces a higher quality of sustainable weight loss which spares muscle whilst facilitating loss of fat.

Therefore, as the metabolic disease market continues to grow exponentially, our competitive advantage in our differentiated pipeline means our growth potential will remain high for many years to come.

Where do you hope to be 5 years from now?

5 years from now I hope to be preparing for our first Phase 2 trial of a Dia Beta Labs therapeutic following generation of Phase 1 data which aligns with the staggering potential we have witnessed in our animal studies to date.

I hope that Dia Beta Labs is continuing to innovate at our site in Coleraine and is harbouring new talent emerging from our founding research group at Ulster University.

I hope that our successes will help pave the way for future cutting-edge biotech companies emerging from the NI-ecosystem.

Check out Dia Beta Lab’s website and LinkedIn. Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn here.