Sonia Sidhu
Sonia Sidhu
Member of Parliament for Brampton South
Government of Canada and JDRF invest $7.7M in type 1 diabetes care and treatments
May 2, 2018

Innovative health research projects will advance treatment and management of the disease

There are more than 300,000 Canadians living with type 1 diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes must inject themselves with insulin several times per day to keep their blood glucose levels normal, and despite their best efforts, these patients sometimes experience serious complications. There is no cure.

Today, Sonia Sidhu, Member of Parliament for Brampton South, and Chair of the All-Party Caucus on Diabetes, on behalf of the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, highlighted an investment of $7.7M in type 1 diabetes research.

The investment will support the clinical trials of ground-breaking therapies in order to accelerate the development of new treatments for people living with type 1 diabetes.

The three projects are:

Dr. Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret, from the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal, will study how Quebec teens and adults can improve control of their blood glucose levels by participating in an online educational program. He will also create a patient registry to evaluate the effectiveness of wearable devices for preventing complications from dangerously low blood sugar.

Dr. Farid Mahmud, from The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, will test whether a new drug helps teens with type 1 diabetes by improving control of blood glucose levels in the interest of preventing long-term kidney and heart issues.

Dr. Gillian Booth, from St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, will pilot a new way of treating people with type 1 diabetes through frequent, brief virtual visits with doctors via videoconferencing on computers, tablets, and smartphones.

These projects are a joint investment under JDRF and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s (CIHR) Partnership to Defeat Diabetes announced in April 2017. CIHR funding was provided through the Innovation Clinical Trials initiative of Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research.

Quotes

“Last spring, the Government announced that it was joining forces with JDRF to defeat type 1 diabetes through innovative clinical research that improves patients’ quality of life. I am pleased to see the first research projects resulting from this partnership. JDRF and CIHR make a great team and are making sound investments to improve the health of Canadians.”

- Ginette Petitpas Taylor

“I congratulate the research teams receiving grants today and would like to thank them for their hard work. I would also like to recognize everyone impacted by type 1 diabetes who are helping design and test these therapies. People living with type 1 diabetes understand their needs better than anyone, and I salute these researchers for involving patients in their work.”

- Sonia Sihdu, Member of Parliament for Brampton South

“Canadian researchers are known worldwide for their work on diabetes and its complications. Canada's Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) is about ensuring that the right patient receives the right intervention at the right time. This partnership with JDRF supports innovative research to improve treatments for people with type 1 diabetes while strengthening the environment for clinical trials in Canada.”

- Dr. Norman Rosenblum, Scientific Director, CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes

“JDRF is focused on launching and sustaining innovative research and clinical trials that will result in new treatments to improve the health and quality of life of the over 300,000 Canadians affected by this disease. By supporting talented scientists in the field, we are working together and laying the foundation for a future without type 1 diabetes.” 

- Dave Prowten, President and CEO, JDRF Canada

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