Washington, D.C., April 1, 2014 – The U.S. Senate approved legislation last night for a one-year extension of the Special Diabetes Program (SDP)—an initiative that accounts for roughly one-third of all federally funded type 1 diabetes (T1D) research in the United States. The decision comes on the heels of last Thursday’s approval of the legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives, and will extend SDP funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the current level of $150 million, as part of the ‘Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014’ (H.R. 4302).

With a one-year renewal, SDP-funded researchers will be able to continue promising clinical trials that are leading to improved therapies and ultimately a cure for T1D. T1D is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, rendering millions of Americans dependent on insulin injections and 24/7 vigilance to survive. The SDP has led to groundbreaking discoveries and new treatments that are improving the lives of people with both T1D and type 2 diabetes, demonstrating a strong return on the federal investment.

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