The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) announced on September 14 that it is holding a $100,000 Challenge for the development of a new glucose-sensitive insulin medication that will be used in the treatment of patients with diabetes as reported by diabeticlive.com.
Tampa, FL (PRWEB) September 17, 2011
JDRF Offers $100,000 for Glucose-Responsive Insulin Medication: The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) announced on September 14 that it is holding a $100,000 Challenge for the development of a new glucose-sensitive insulin medication that will be used in the treatment of patients with diabetes. The JDRF is a global organization that promotes awareness of Type 1 diabetes in addition to sponsoring research into new treatments for diabetes and educating diabetics about how to properly manage the disease as reported by diabeticlive.com.
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The JDRF is utilizing the InnoCentive.com platform to issue the challenge. InnoCentive is a service that connects businesses and organizations seeking solutions to problems in a wide variety of fields, from business to engineering to medicine, with scientists and research teams who develop solutions custom-tailored for the "challenge." The best solution is awarded a cash prize, usually between $10,000 and $100,000. The JDRF's challenge will award $100,000 to any research group that develops a medication that improves blood sugar management, lessens the need for frequent testing of bloods sugar, and ensures the health of diabetics by reducing the risk of complications that accompany diabetes.
The winning solution will be a glucose-responsive insulin medication that senses glucose levels in the blood of the patient and automatically releases insulin into the bloodstream when necessary. A glucose-sensitive medication would require fewer doses - a single dose a day, or even less - and would reduce the burden of frequent blood sugar testing and insulin supplementation for diabetics.
According to Aaron Kowalski, Ph.D., assistant Vice President of Treatment Therapies at the JDRF, "Insulin treatment requires diligent monitoring and burdensome administration, often several times a day, every day. This remains the only way to regulate blood sugar levels for the millions of individuals with insulin-dependent diabetes worldwide. Although research has propelled the development of better and faster-acting insulins, the disease is still hard to control because of the way insulin is administered to patients."
"What we need is sophisticated insulin that will take the guesswork out of managing diabetes by developing a novel insulin that works in the same way insulin works in people without diabetes," continued Dr. Kowalski. "By fostering novel approaches from diverse problem Solvers within and outside the diabetes field, we hope this Challenge with InnoCentive will help speed progress toward the development of glucose-responsive insulin- progress urgently needed by people with diabetes."
InnoCentive.com is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. The company's founders were first inspired to create a service connecting businesses with qualified researchers in 1998 and launched InnoCentive in 2001.