The Foundation also launched a new collaboration with Diabetes UK and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation UK
The Steve Morgan Foundation (SMF) has made an unprecedented donation of £50m to diabetes research. The Foundation has also announced a partnership with Diabetes UK and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation UK (JDRF) which aims to transform type 1 diabetes research, search for better treatments and discover a cure.
As part of the celebrations marking 100 years since insulin was first used in type 1 diabetes, SMF announced the £50m donation – the largest ever single donation in the UK for diabetes research – as part of the ‘SMF Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge’.
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to allow sugar to enter cells, in order to produce energy.
While the breakthrough a century ago of the first use of insulin to treat a person with type 1 diabetes has since saved the lives of millions living with the condition, managing type 1 with insulin is complex, and in spite of the hormone, many go on to develop diabetes complications.
The partnership aims to move beyond insulin in its current form, which is the only treatment for type 1 diabetes, and bring type 1 patients closer to a cure.
The SMF Type 1 diabetes Grand Challenge will, therefore, focus on three key research areas. These include treatments to stop the immune system’s destruction of insulin-producing beta cells, treatments to replace or rescue insulin-producing beta cells and novel insulins, such as those that respond to changing blood sugar levels.
Steve and Sally Morgan, on behalf of the Steve Morgan Foundation, said: “We’re so incredibly proud to announce this landmark partnership with Diabetes UK and JDRF UK. With the expertise of the two leading diabetes charities in the UK, and our shared ambition to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes, the SMF Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge will supercharge type 1 diabetes research, with the aim of having new treatments and ultimately a cure.”
