| The list reflects advances across T1D research and driven by a powerful network of collaborators. Many were funded by JDRF or supported by the JDRF T1D Fund; others were advanced by the National Institutes of Health’s Special Diabetes Program, the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, or by the private sector that made T1D a priority in their research and development programs.
Progress Toward Cures:
· Drug delays T1D for more than 2 years: For the first time ever, an immunotherapy treatment, called teplizumab, was able to delay for more than two years the onset of T1D in those with a high risk of developing the disease.
· Pharma make landmark investment in T1D Research: Vertex Pharmaceuticals acquired T1D- focused Semma Therapeutics for $950 million.
· Better insulin-producing beta cells from stem cells: JDRF-funded researchers have introduced an inventive step in the process of making mature insulin-producing beta cells from stem cells, with the resulting cells responding to blood sugar more like human beta cells.
· Collaboration with Cancer Researchers: In 2019 JDRF and The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust teamed up with the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy on research that could help both diseases.
New Therapies & Reducing Complications:
· FDA approves a second artificial pancreas system: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized an algorithm that enables the second artificial pancreas system: The Tandem Control-IQ™ advanced hybrid closed loop technology.
· FDA approves two treatments for low blood sugar: The FDA approved Baqsimi, the first non-injectable emergency treatment for severe episodes of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
· Recommendation: Pregnant women with T1D use continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to monitor blood sugar: The United States has joined Australia and the United Kingdom in recommending that CGMs be used to improve HbA1c outcomes in pregnant women with T1D.
· End-stage kidney disease: A possible therapeutic target for people with T1D: In the United States, diabetic kidney disease is responsible for more than half of all new cases of end-stage kidney disease.
· European approval of two adjunct therapies: The European Commission has approved two medications that help in glucose management by preventing the kidneys from reabsorbing glucose back into the blood.
· Clinical trial results: TTP399 was able to reduce HbA1c by 0.7%: A protein, called glucokinase (or GK), acts as a key regulator of sugar levels in the body.
To learn more about the breakthroughs and their impact on the T1D community please visit the JRDF blog. |