Planned Collaboration Will Focus on Type 1 Diabetes “Disease Interception” – Whose Aim is to Prevent Insulin Dependence

JDRF recently announced its support of an innovative scientific approach of Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen) and the company’s Disease Interception Accelerator (DIA) group, designed to support novel initiatives of disease interception – or changing the path of the disease before a person is clinically diagnosed. JDRF will work with Janssen scientists to further identify the root cause(s) of T1D with the aim of intercepting and eliminating the disease before clinical symptoms emerge, effectively seeking to create a new paradigm in health care for T1D.

“Through recent research discoveries, we now have the ability to better define the early stages of type 1 diabetes before the onset of clinical symptoms and the need for insulin injections. This allows us to identify individuals in whom the type 1 diabetes disease process has started and to develop therapies to intercept it in order to maintain insulin independence,” said Richard Insel, M.D., JDRF’s chief scientific officer. “JDRF has long believed in preventive interventions and we are eager to support Janssen in advancing this exciting science initiative in combatting type 1 diabetes.”

Diagnosing a person with T1D during the early or asymptomatic stages of the disease has a host of research, development, and regulatory implications, and impacts awareness of T1D as we know it today. Recent research has confirmed that T1D often begins long before the onset of clinical symptoms with a gradual loss of insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. A successful disease interception approach may provide a new window of opportunity to delay or stop disease progression and delay or prevent insulin dependence, thereby making a significant positive impact on the lives of individuals.

The incidence of T1D has been increasing globally over the past four decades, growing by three to four percent annually. In addition, it has been increasingly occurring in individuals that previously have been considered to have a lower genetic risk of susceptibility for T1D, suggesting a lower threshold for developing the disease. Now is the time to launch a bold new attack on this disease and JDRF is helping lead the charge.

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