UI Health is First to Perform Islet Cell Transplant with Lantidra

Physicians at UI Health have performed the first pancreatic islet cell transplant with Lantidra, the only FDA-approved cell therapy for the treatment of brittle type 1 diabetes. Lantidra was developed at UIC through research conducted by Dr. José Oberholzer, with the clinical trials conducted at the University of Illinois Hospital & Clinics.

Head of surgery, Dr. Enrico Benedetti, noted the new procedure is safer than a pancreas transplant. “With Lantidra, there are no surgical risks, and instead of being in the hospital for up to 12 days following an organ transplant, [the patient] was home within 24 hours,” he said.

Brittle type 1 diabetes, which is a more severe form of the disease, is estimated by the National Institutes of Health to afflict roughly 80,000 people. UI Health is the sole provider of this novel treatment for the disease. UI Health can also partner with patients’ health insurance to obtain coverage for Lantidra.