“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of the iLet Insulin-Only Bionic Pancreas is a huge win for the type 1 diabetes (T1D) community and is a vital step forward in making day-to-day life better for people living with the disease.

As part of our mission to improve the lives of those affected by T1D, JDRF has been a leader in artificial pancreas research for more than 15 years and partnered with the FDA to establish regulatory pathways to ensure artificial pancreas technology gets into the hands of people with T1D as quickly as possible.

As part of the Artificial Pancreas Program, JDRF supported the development of the algorithm and preclinical and early clinical research through grants to Firas El-Khatib, Ph.D., who received a JDRF postdoctoral fellowship from 2006-2007 and is now co-founder and VP, Research & Innovation, at Beta Bionics, Ed Damiano, Ph.D., co-founder and executive chair of Beta Bionics, from 2009-2011, and Steven J. Russell, M.D., Ph.D., who received a grant from 2013-2016 and is the principal investigator on all of the iLet clinical trials.

JDRF will continue to support the development of new technologies and treatments to improve blood sugar management to ensure people with T1D can live healthier and more manageable lives until we find cures. JDRF is also fighting to ensure people with this disease have more choices and better access to the diabetes management tools that work best for them through our Coverage2Control campaign.”