R&D Program Targets Opportunities to Improve Glucose Control and Help People with Diabetes Lead Healthier Lives
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX) announced today an innovative program aimed at improving the treatment of type 1 diabetes by developing novel insulin delivery products to enhance the use of insulin pumps.
Through the program, JDRF will support BD's research and development of new products that deliver insulin from a pump to a patient in either an infusion set or patch-pump configuration. Research indicates that there are significant opportunities to enhance pump therapy by improving convenience as well as minimizing pain, kinking, occlusions and site infections. An additional goal of the program is improving the speed at which insulin works. These enhancements are intended to improve how people with diabetes control their insulin therapy and have a positive impact on their overall level of glycemic control.
"Better control means better health outcomes for people with diabetes," said Alan Lewis, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of JDRF. "Constantly improving the technological tools to dispense insulin will lead to greater adoption of these methods and healthier lives. That's why we view this collaboration with BD as vital to our goal to provide a bridge to the cure for type 1 diabetes."
The JDRF will invest $4.3 million in milestone-based financial support over the next few years for these projects.
"Providing reliable, convenient and cost-effective insulin delivery options is vital to helping people manage diabetes," said Linda Tharby, President, BD Medical - Diabetes Care. "This collaboration with JDRF demonstrates BD's commitment to leveraging our expertise as a leader in insulin injection and acute care infusion to improve the patient experience for insulin pump users."