In 2016 a group of JDRF volunteers, eager to address the challenge of low private investment in T1D cure therapies, created the T1D Fund.  The T1D Fund is a venture philanthropy fund that uses donor funds to invest in companies with T1D programs with the purpose of attracting private venture capital to our cause.

We are so happy to announce that longtime JDRF champions Ron and Tammy Malone have made the first T1D Fund gift from the state of South Carolina in support of JDRF’s innovative T1D Fund.  “We are pleased to be part of the T1D Fund effort and hope others in SC will join us in supporting the work of companies engaged in research benefitting the entire T1D community.  The T1D Fund is an important step in underwriting tangible efforts which we believe will lead to early detection, prevention, improved management and eventually curing T1D.  We salute the innovative thinkers who brought to life the T1D Fund within JDRF”, said the Malones.

“We are so grateful to the Malones for this incredible gift,” said Megan Ritchie, Senior Development Manager for JDRF South Carolina. “Their generosity will help move the needle on research that will improve the lives of all those living with T1D and those who might acquire the disease in the future.”

To date the Fund has invested over $67 million in exciting companies that are committed to developing and commercializing T1D therapies. More than 30 venture capital firms have invested more than $430 million in T1D programs alongside us since inception, representing a remarkable transformation of the fight to cure T1D.

The number of companies with T1D cure programs has risen from just a handful in 2016 to nearly 20 today as a result of the T1D Fund’s efforts.  These companies are achieving early mission success via new clinical trials, industry partnerships with pharma, and the application of expertise in other diseases to T1D.  For more information about the T1D Fund, visit T1DFund.org.