Diapin Therapeutics is a development-stage company that was founded to develop a proprietary three amino acid peptide for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. The company was spun off from research at the University of Michigan and its offices are located in the university's Venture Accelerator. The company's founder is Yuqing (Eugene) Chen, Frederick Huetwell Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Director for the Center for Advanced Models for Translational Sciences and Therapeutics, and Vice-Chair for Basic and Translational Research, Department of Cardiac Surgery. Chen's research in the diabetes field involves the cloning of the gene for extendin-4. This glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, a.k.a. exenatide (Byetta), controls incretin signaling, the mechanism addressed by the most recent Type 2 diabetes therapies.
