The US Food and Drug Administration have given regenerative medicine company Viacyte the go-ahead to evaluate its insulin-making cell pouch in humans. The San Diego-based biotech plans to promptly initiate a phase 1/2 trial in type 1 diabetes with its human embryonic stem cell–derived product, VC-01, to treat type 1 diabetes. VC-01 consists of pancreatic progenitor cells, called PEC-01 cells, derived from a human embryonic stem cell line, encapsulated in Viacyte's Encaptra device and implanted under the skin. The expectation is that the encapsulated cells will mature into insulin-producing beta cells to regulate blood glucose.