The nonprofit diabetes research organization JDRF has teamed up with Boston-based technology development company PureTech to launch a startup creator aimed at speeding the development of new therapies for Type 1 diabetes.
JDRF, based in New York City, will contribute $5 million to the venture effort, dubbed T1D Innovations. The program will create and fund companies developing innovative therapies for Type 1 diabetes, helping potential new drugs move from the lab to the clinic.
"T1D Innovations is a unique opportunity to fund entrepreneurial activity at the translational stage of the Type 1 diabetes product pipeline, allowing us to drive the most commercially promising Type 1 diabetes research projects into the clinic while leveraging the co-investment of other partners," JDRF President and CEO Jeffrey Brewer said in a statement.
The venture effort will focus on funding therapies that help restore or maintain glycemic control or have the potential of restoring normal physiology for people living with or at risk for developing Type 1 diabetes. The disease, which usually strikes children and young adults, is a chronic condition in which the body does not produce insulin. Currently, there is no way to prevent the disease.
A JDRF press release did not include many details but said that investors will be able to participate in any financial returns generated from the initiative.
- here's the press release