The New York City-based Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation will work with the Johnson & Johnson Corporate Office of Science and Technology and its affiliates to speed the development of drug targets and pathways that promote the survival and function of insulin-producing cells in individuals with diabetes. The joint program plans to fund research at academic centers around the world that could eventually lead to novel drug targets and industry collaborations for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The program will solicit grant proposals from academic and medical research foundations for one- or two-year research projects focusing on agents and compounds that safely promote the survival and function of beta cells — cells within the pancreas that produce insulin and are lost in the immune attack that causes type 1 diabetes. Preserving or maintaining beta cell mass and activity in people with type 1 diabetes can reduce insulin requirements, enable easier and more effective control of the disease, and lower the risk of short- and long-term complications. “This program will clearly help accelerate the translation of basic research into therapies useful in the treatment of diabetes,” says Alan J. Lewis, PhD, president and CEO of JDRF.
Source: PR Newswire