NewcelX names diabetes cure researcher Dr. Camillo Ricordi to scientific advisory board

NewcelX Ltd. (Nasdaq: NCEL) announced on July 8, 2026 that it has added Camillo Ricordi, M.D., F.N.A.I., to its Scientific Advisory Board. The company describes itself as a clinical-stage biotechnology firm working on regenerative cell therapies for type 1 diabetes and other serious diseases.¹

The appointment follows what NewcelX called a successful FDA Type B Pre-IND meeting for its program NCEL-101, in which the company received constructive feedback from the agency and alignment on its proposed development plan, which it said gives a clear regulatory path toward starting clinical trials.¹

Dr. Ricordi brings a long research record to the role. He has authored more than 1,250 scientific publications, has been cited over 64,000 times, holds an h-index of 123, and has made numerous contributions to islet transplantation research.¹ He holds several academic and clinical leadership titles at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, where he has held professorships in surgery, medicine, and biomedical engineering, microbiology, and immunology since 1993 (span 1-10).

He is credited with inventing the Ricordi Chamber, an automated method for isolating insulin-producing islet cells from the human pancreas that became the standard for clinical islet transplantation, and he led the first NIH-funded, FDA Phase 3 multicenter islet transplant trial, which was completed in 2017.¹ He currently co-chairs the steering committee for the Vertex stem cell-derived islet transplant program known as VX-880 and is working on a first-in-human trial with iTolerance testing a tolerance-inducing microgel for islet transplantation without the need for chronic immunosuppression.¹

In his new role, Ricordi will advise on and help move forward the clinical application of NewcelX's approach to biologic replacement and its regenerative medicine platform.¹ CEO Ronen Twito and Ricordi both commented on the appointment, framing it as support for the company's diabetes program and its collaboration with Eledon Pharmaceuticals, according to the release.