BD and JDRF join forces to fight type 1 diabetes

BD  has announced a new research collaboration supported by JDRF, the global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research.

The collaboration expands the commitment from JDRF and BD to explore new advancements in therapy options for people with type 1 diabetes. This new, two-year funding commitment from JDRF will enable BD to focus on technology enhancements to support the development of an extended wear insulin infusion set, BD explained in its press releace issued on Thursday.

While BD has been working to improve new advancements in insulin infusion delivery technologies, this new collaboration with JDRF will enable accelerated research into the biological causes of limited set life, with subsequent concept prototyping and testing. Current insulin infusion sets are only cleared by the FDA and other regulatory authorities for up to three day use. The goal of the collaboration is to address the mechanical-material and biological issues that contribute to limited set lifetime, and design new devices allowing infusion sets to be effective beyond three days, for a majority of patients.

“Insulin infusion therapy has substantial clinical benefits for type 1 diabetes management, yet its potential is limited by an abbreviated three-day infusion set usage life,” said Ken Miller, president of Diabetes Care for BD. “Thanks to our latest partnership with JDRF, we can continue to build on the successful innovations BD currently offers in the insulin infusion category. We are extremely excited for this opportunity to advance the science and understanding of insulin delivery.”

Vincent Crabtree, Ph.D., director, Research Business Development at JDRF said, “JDRF is pleased to continue our partnership with BD to further reduce the burden of managing infusion sets for people with type 1 diabetes. Living with diabetes is challenging, and JDRF’s goal is to provide broad access to innovative therapies, ensuring each person with this disease has access to treatments to enable them to have better outcomes and to lead healthy lives.”