What Persista Bio does

Persista Bio Inc. is a seed-stage biotherapeutics company developing implantable cell therapies to treat Type 1 diabetes and other chronic diseases. Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Ithaca, NY, the company is targeting the more than 9 million people worldwide living with Type 1 diabetes who currently require lifelong insulin management, with planned future applications across inflammation, pain, obesity, enzyme deficiencies, and metabolic disorders. The firm licenses two foundational technologies — an anti-fibrotic macroencapsulation capsule developed at Cornell University and an implantable electrochemical oxygen generator (iEOG) from Giner, Inc. — and combines them into its core product, the O2Line™ Oxygenated Cell Therapy Platform.

The O2Line™ system integrates a core-shell nanofibrous encapsulation capsule designed to prevent immune rejection and fibrotic scarring with an in-situ oxygen generator that uses electrolysis of tissue moisture to continuously supply oxygen to densely packed, insulin-secreting cells. According to the company, O2Line™ is the first system capable of fully supporting the viability and function of densely packed insulin-secreting cells in a subcutaneous, retrievable format, enabling self-regulating glucose response without daily injections, pumps, finger sticks, or sensors and without immunosuppression. Preclinical studies in diabetic rats demonstrated normalization of blood glucose for 90-120 days without immunosuppression; the work has been published on bioRxiv (May 2025) and in Nature Communications (August 2025).

Persista Bio is pre-clinical and pre-revenue with no commercial products on the market. The forward business model contemplates future revenue through sale of cell therapy implants and licensing of platform technology to biopharma and stem-cell partners. Current capital sources include a $2.1 million Direct-to-Phase II SBIR grant from NIDDK, a Phase I NIH manufacturing-readiness award (both announced September 2025), supplemental research support from the Hartwell Foundation, Breakthrough T1D, and Novo Nordisk Company, and a $3.5 million seed round currently in process. Go-to-market is centered on early partnerships with stem cell providers and biopharma collaborators; no pricing has been disclosed. Founding leadership comprises CEO Linda Tempelman (formerly Founding CEO of Giner Life Sciences), Cornell Professor Minglin Ma, and Cornell Professor Emeritus James Flanders, with an advisory board that includes Dr. James Shapiro, a recognized leader in islet transplantation.

Name

Persista Bio

Legal name

Persista Bio Inc.

Website

https://persistabio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Persista Bio is a seed-stage biotech developing the O2Line™ oxygenated cell therapy platform, which pairs an anti-fibrotic macroencapsulation capsule with an implantable oxygen generator to deliver long-term, immunosuppression-free treatment for Type 1 diabetes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Implantable Cell Therapy

NAICS

Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)

SIC

Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845)

akta.pro primary industry

Stem Cell Therapies (MSC/iPSC/HSC-derived) (HLAAABAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Transplantation & Advanced Therapies Pharmaceuticals (incl. Cell & Gene Therapies) (HLAIAAAO)

Keywords

• Implantable cell therapy
• Cell encapsulation technology
• Type 1 diabetes
• Biotherapeutics platform
• Medical device manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Ithaca

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Cell Therapy Platform (Pre-revenue): Persista Bio is a seed stage, pre-clinical biotherapeutics company. No commercial revenue has been generated. The company is developing its O2Line™ Oxygenated Cell Therapy Platform for Type 1 diabetes and other chronic diseases. Future revenue model will likely involve sale of cell therapy implants and licensing of platform technology.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Persista Bio is developing the O2Line™ Oxygenated Cell Therapy Platform, a long-term implantable cell therapy system for Type 1 diabetes and other chronic diseases. The platform combines an implantable electrochemical oxygen generator (iEOG) with a macroencapsulation cell capsule to deliver continuous oxygen to densely packed, insulin-secreting cells without requiring immunosuppression. The product is in preclinical development and has not yet been commercialized.

Product overview

Persista Bio offers the O2Line™ Oxygenated Cell Therapy Platform as its core product. This system combines two main technology components: (1) an anti-fibrotic cell capsule licensed from Cornell University that protects implanted cells from immune rejection while allowing nutrient and therapeutic exchange, and (2) an implantable electrochemical oxygen generator (iEOG) licensed from Giner, Inc. that provides continuous oxygenation to support densely packed cells. The platform is designed initially for Type 1 diabetes treatment, with potential applications for other chronic diseases including inflammation, obesity, enzyme deficiencies, and metabolic disorders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• O2Line™: The O2Line™ Cell Delivery System is an oxygenated encapsulation system for insulin-secreting stem cells. It combines implantable oxygenation technology with macroencapsulation to enable long-term, immunosuppression-free cell therapy for Type 1 diabetes.

Products and services

• O2Line™ Oxygenated Cell Therapy Platform An implantable cell therapy platform that combines an anti-fibrotic macroencapsulation capsule with an in-situ electrochemical oxygen generator to deliver continuous oxygenation to densely packed insulin-secreting cells. Designed for long-term, immunosuppression-free treatment of Type 1 diabetes and other chronic diseases; preclinical stage with no commercial revenue.

Quantifiable outcome

• Normalized blood glucose for 90 days in diabetic rats during preclinical testing
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Cornell UniversitycoreTechnology or IntegrationLicensing macroencapsulation technology developed at Cornell University for cell delivery systems. Founding team includes Cornell professors. Research conducted at Minglin Ma Lab in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering.
• Giner, Inc. (Giner Labs)coreTechnology or IntegrationLicensing implantable electrochemical oxygen generator (iEOG) technology from Giner, Inc. CEO Linda Tempelman previously served as Founding CEO of Giner Life Sciences. Giner Labs develops electrolyzer and fuel cell technologies with applications including life sciences and NASA/US Navy.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Seraxis: Preclinical-to-clinical stage company developing stem cell-derived islet therapies (Sertolin) for Type 1 diabetes, with emphasis on scalable GMP manufacturing of encapsulated cell products. Comparable emerging peer in the stem-cell-derived T1D space with similar long-term ambitions.
• Betalin Therapeutics: Developing a bio-artificial pancreas (Betalin Pancreas) using microencapsulation of insulin-secreting cells for Type 1 diabetes. Comparable emerging peer focused on encapsulated cell implants that remove the need for immunosuppression—a directly parallel design philosophy to Persista Bio's O2Line™.
• Procyon Technologies: Preclinical-stage biotech developing an oxygen-generating implantable cell therapy platform (similar in concept to Persista Bio's iEOG-based system) for diabetes and other endocrine disorders. Directly relevant emerging peer exploring oxygenation-enabled cell encapsulation.

Broad incumbents

• Eli Lilly: Major diabetes incumbent (Humalog, Trulicity, Mounjaro) with strategic cell therapy exposure through the acquisition of Sigilon Therapeutics in 2023. Lilly is pursuing encapsulated cell therapy for T1D and represents both a competitive incumbent and a likely strategic partner for any successful T1D cell therapy platform.
• Novo Nordisk: Global insulin and T1D therapeutics leader, with growing investment in stem cell-derived therapies and cell encapsulation. Already a research supporter of Persista Bio. Represents both a strategic incumbent and a potential commercial partner/acquirer given its dominant T1D commercial footprint.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals: Acquired ViaCyte and is advancing VX-880 (stem cell-derived islets) and VX-264 (encapsulated version) in clinical trials for T1D. As the clinical-stage leader in stem cell diabetes therapy, Vertex represents both the most relevant benchmark and the most serious competitive threat to Persista Bio's eventual market entry.

Direct peers

• Sernova Corp: Developing the Cell Pouch System, an implantable subcutaneous device for therapeutic cell delivery (initially islets for T1D, now expanding into stem cell-derived cells). Sernova is one of the closest direct competitors in the encapsulated/implantable cell therapy space, with clinical-stage assets.
• ViaCyte: Pioneer in encapsulated stem cell-derived beta cell therapies for Type 1 diabetes (PEC-Direct, PEC-QT programs). Acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals in 2022, but operated as the most directly comparable encapsulated cell therapy peer to Persista Bio prior to the acquisition. Both target immunosuppression-free T1D treatment via macroencapsulation.
• Sigilon Therapeutics: Developed Afibromer™-encapsulated cell therapies (including for Type 1 diabetes) using a sphere-encapsulation platform to avoid immunosuppression. Acquired by Eli Lilly in 2023 but had been one of the most directly comparable peers in encapsulated cell therapy design and T1D application.

Others

• Giner, Inc. Developer of electrolyzer and fuel cell technologies, including the implantable electrochemical oxygen generator (iEOG) licensed to Persista Bio. While primarily an enabling technology licensor rather than a competitor, Giner is a critical infrastructure partner and comparable in adjacent electrochemical medical device development.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/persista-bio-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Persista Bio