Background & Purpose

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BACKGROUND

There are no cures for T1D, an autoimmune disease characterized by an immune-mediated loss of pancreatic beta cell mass and function, resulting in insulin deficiency and dependency. While exogenous insulin therapy is the only established treatment, people with T1D require constant glucose management. Only 17 percent of youth and 21 percent of adults achieve optimal glycemic outcomes, and people living with T1D face significant risk of long-term complications, mental burden of 24/7/365 disease management, financial burden due to medical care, and loss of income and productivity. According to the CDC’s 2020 National Diabetes Statistics Report, 1.6 million Americas live with T1D in the United States, an increase of nearly 30% from 2017, with cases growing most sharply among diverse populations. New interventions to prevent, slow, or halt disease progression are urgently needed to improve outcomes for the increasing number of people diagnosed with T1D each year.

The JDRF Cures Program strategy for disease-modifying therapies is to develop treatments that prevent, halt, or reverse disease progression by rebalancing the immune system and preserving or regrowing beta cells. T1D is a complex disease, suggesting success in treatment and prevention will be based upon a variety of targets and pathways. In a recent phase 2 clinical study, efficacy in the reduction of insulin dependency was observed using golimumab, a TNFα inhibitor with FDA approval for autoimmune indications such as forms of arthritis and Crohn’s disease. Therefore, there is a clear precedent for the successful realignment of therapeutics from other autoimmune diseases for assessment in T1D. In addition, checkpoint inhibitor therapy for cancer, such as the anti-PD1 monoclonal antibody, is associated with increased diagnosis of T1D within 3 months of treatment, indicating a connection between immune interventions in other diseases and the onset of autoimmune diabetes. This highlights an opportunity to explore the onset of T1D from novel perspectives and disciplines, with the potential to identify previously unidentified targets or strategies for disease modifying therapies.

To view the informational webinar that took place on July 26th, please click here.