Gaithersburg biotech MedImmune and Boston-based Joslin Diabetes Center announced plans Tuesday to work together on new drug candidates that could someday regenerate insulin cells, increase calorie-burning"brown fat" or even replicate the effects of bariatric surgery. MedImmune, which is the biologics research and development arm of U.K. pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), and Joslin, a nonprofit diabetes organization affiliated with Harvard Medical School, said they formed a three-year collaboration to target diabetes, obesity and related metabolic disorders.
