DiogenX and the EIC Accelerator: Regrowing Insulin Cells

DiogenX, registered in Marseille in December 2019, develops DGX-01, a recombinant protein meant to make the pancreas regrow the beta cells that produce insulin, which the immune system destroys in type 1 diabetes. It was founded on the research of Professor Patrick Collombat and was selected in the EIC Accelerator's March 2023 cut-off with blended finance. The EU grant was €2.50 million for "Beta-cell recovery to counter diabetes", a €5.67 million project that ran from October 2023 to September 2025, according to CORDIS. The project objective said clinical proof of principle "will be reached in 2026".

The final report says DiogenX "completed all scientific and technical activities required to advance DGX-01 toward IND/CTA readiness", according to the CORDIS reporting page. It selected DGX-01 from several analogues, found no adverse findings in mice, rats and monkeys that would block development, and released a GMP master cell bank for manufacturing. No clinical trial of DGX-01 is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, and the company's news page has not been updated since November 2024.

Where DiogenX Stands Now

DiogenX is active in the French company register, which lists a net loss of €10.33 million and no revenue for 2025 and a workforce of six to nine people, according to recherche-entreprises. It files its accounts with a confidentiality declaration. Official notices in BODACC record changes to its share capital in January, July and December 2025 and a change in its management in July 2026, without further detail. In November 2024 it hired Dr Klara Owen as Chief Medical Officer to take DGX-01 "through the clinical and regulatory processes", according to DiogenX.

The Technology: Making Beta Cells Divide

DGX-01 is an analogue of RSPO1, a protein that switches on the Wnt/beta-catenin signalling pathway, which drives cell growth. The final report says several candidate analogues made beta cells multiply in lab tests and, dosed weekly, improved blood sugar control and cut diabetes incidence in NOD mice, the standard animal model of type 1 diabetes. Regrowing beta cells does not by itself stop the autoimmune attack that kills them, and whether the effect holds in people is untested.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The EIC project covered lead selection, safety studies and manufacturing. By its own report, all of it was done: a stable production cell line, purification above 99% at 250-litre scale and a clinical formulation. The grant did not pay for a trial, but the company told the EIC that human proof of principle would follow in 2026. A year after the project ended, no trial application or registration is public.

1. Lead candidateDeliveredDGX-01 selected.
2. Non-clinical safetyDeliveredThree species, per report.
3. GMP manufacturingDeliveredMaster cell bank released.
4. Human trial in 2026UnverifiedNone registered.

The Money

The EU paid 44% of the project. The Series A, extended to €33.5 million in October 2023 when Sunstone Life Science Ventures joined, was more than 13 times the grant. DiogenX lost €10.3 million in 2025, and a first-in-human trial would raise its costs. How much cash it holds is not public, and neither are the terms of the equity side of its EIC blended finance.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

The project objective cites 8.75 million people with type 1 diabetes worldwide who depend on insulin, fewer than 20% of whom reach their glucose targets. A drug that restores the body's own insulin production would change the disease. DiogenX has built the preclinical case with money from the EU and three large drug makers; the test in humans has not begun.

The Verdict

DiogenX and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.