JDRF Launches Innovative Cure Collaboration Partnership With Sanford Health

Main Category: Diabetes
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 08 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, the world's leading charitable funder and advocate of diabetes research, said that it is partnering with Sanford Health, an integrated health care system in South Dakota and the Midwest, in an innovative "cure collaboration" to speed the pace of diabetes research and delivery of cures at the point-of-care.

The JDRF and Sanford Health partnership brings together the patient focus of Sanford's dynamic, integrated healthcare system with JDRF's 40 years of experience and patients-interests first leadership in diabetes research.

The Sanford Project is focused on curing type 1 diabetes; it is one of four initiatives resulting from a $400 million gift to Sanford Health in 2007 by South Dakota businessman and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford. By partnering and leveraging JDRF's unmatched awareness of the leading edge in diabetes related research, The Sanford Project - Cure Collaboration insures the projected $100 million per year investment can be deployed most effectively to build critical resources, cultivate talent and deliver results for individuals and families personally affected by Type 1 diabetes.

The initial phase of the partnership includes The Sanford Award, a three year JDRF grant, funded by Sanford Health. The Sanford Award will identify bold, scientists who are "rising stars" and support their most creative and innovative ideas. "JDRF and Sanford Health recognize that the goal of a cure for Type 1 diabetes will be accelerated through the sharing of knowledge and resources facilitated by a dynamic "cure collaboration"," said David Link, Executive Vice President, Sanford Health.

"The Sanford Project is designed for results, and is intended to be a new way of advancing biomedical research by bridging the worlds of research and clinical treatment," said Alan Lewis, PhD, President and CEO of JDRF. "The Sanford Project - Cure Collaboration enhances JDRF's bedside-to-bench-to-bedside research platforms in regeneration and autoimmunity by linking them to Sanford Health's translational research infrastructure."

According to David Link, "The Sanford Project - Cure Collaboration will provide Sanford Health patients greater access to the most advanced therapies and technologies via clinical trials and early adoption of evidence-based best practices. It will also leverage and enhance the data network utility provided by the health system's integrated electronic medical record system, DocZ which will help patients with type 1 diabetes and physicians better manage treatment protocols and follow-up appointments - in order to achieve the best possible outcome. US News & World Report has recognized Sanford as a leader in Diabetes Care.

About Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that affects children, adolescents, and adults, in which the immune system attacks cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, a hormone that enables people to convert food into energy. People with type 1 diabetes are dependent on insulin for the rest of their life. But insulin is not a cure, and people with diabetes are at significant risk for a wide range of serious complications, including heart disease, blindness and kidney disease. As many as 3 million people in the U.S. have type 1 diabetes.

Source:
Jillian Lubarsky
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International