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Home > News & events > News > Research and policy breakthroughs in 2024
This has been an incredible year of breakthroughs in our work to find cures for type 1 diabetes (T1D) and make life better for everyone facing it. Your support has made millions of pounds worth of research possible and seen advances that would have sounded impossible a decade ago. We’ve advocated for issues that were previously ignored to help make sure nobody gets left behind.
As we look back at the highlights from the past 12 months it’s clear that, for the T1D community, there are so many reasons to be optimistic about 2025 and beyond.
We began the year by raising at government level an important issue affecting the T1D community. With our support, a Parliamentary Inquiry published its report about failings in care for people experiencing type 1 diabetes and disordered eating (T1DE), and recommendations for how to improve it.
Eating disorders are more common in people with T1D, and this can lead to severe psychological and physical complications. Yet there is a lack of understanding and no recognised NHS pathway for this complex condition, meaning that people don’t get the help they need.
But great practice is happening in pockets of the NHS where T1DE pilot schemes are underway. The inquiry called on government to ensure these are rolled out nationwide, to make sure everyone with or at risk of T1DE gets the right care.
Researchers revealed that lab-grown beta cells, engineered to hide from the immune system, eliminated the need for insulin treatment in a monkey with type 1 diabetes. The science came from Sana Biotechnology, a research company we funded via the T1D Fund – our bold initiative to drive cures for T1D through private investment.
The next step for this exciting research is to run a proof-of-concept clinical trial which tests the safety and feasibility of transplanting these cells into a human volunteer with T1D.
Dr Sanjoy Dutta, our Chief Scientific Officer, said: “The development of cell therapies that replace the loss of insulin-producing cells could one day offer cures for type 1 diabetes … we look forward to seeing if [these] results translate into people, as they would represent a meaningful advance in the treatment of type 1 diabetes.”
In March one of the biggest international diabetes conferences, Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes (ATTD) 2024, took place in Italy. We were there, shining a light on the most important stories for our community back home, including pioneering cell replacement therapies.
Just a few days later, researchers in the US announced clinical trials of an ‘arm pancreas’, in the rapidly moving field of beta cell replacement. Biotech company Minutia is running the two-part trial to transplant clusters of islets, that contain insulin-producing beta cells, into the forearms of eight participants. Professor Matthias Hebrok, co-founder of the company, is a scientific advisor to our Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, and we are co-funding the trial.
Analysis of DNA from a young brother and sister, both diagnosed with T1D as babies, revealed new clues about the autoimmune attack that causes the condition. The study, which we helped to fund, identified a unique change in the siblings’ DNA that is probably responsible for their T1D.
One of the researchers involved, Professor Timothy Tree, said this “opens up a new potential target for treatments that could prevent diabetes in the future.”
We raised vital awareness among MPs on the psychological impacts of T1D, through the inclusion of the topic in a parliamentary debate on mental health and long-term conditions. From the moment we knew the debate was scheduled, we worked with parliamentarians to ensure the psychological aspects of T1D were represented.
Our detailed briefing explained the complex challenges faced by people living with T1D. Peter Dowd MP took this on board and, in his speech, he stressed the importance of comprehensive care for people living with type 1.
Peter said: “Seeking support from healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, diabetes educators, psychologists, and social workers, is crucial in developing effective coping mechanisms tailored to individual needs.”
At the start of summer, Breakthrough T1D-funded research took centre stage at the high-profile American Diabetes Association (ADA) conference in Florida. More than 190 of the studies that were presented – from fundamental biology to trials of new treatments in people – had been made possible by your donations to us.
The biggest stories from the conference included remarkable results from Vertex Pharmaceutical’s clinical trial of lab-grown islets, made possible by previous research funded by Breakthrough T1D. At ADA, Vertex reported that 11 of the 12 people with T1D who had so far received the target dose of insulin-making islets needed less or even no insulin treatment. And all three of the people who have had the cells for at least 12 months no longer have hypos and are completely free from taking insulin.
Another important announcement made at ADA 2024, was the first international guidance on the best way to support people with early-stage T1D. Breakthrough T1D drove the development of these guidelines, which set out for the first time how people diagnosed as at risk of or with presymptomatic T1D should be cared for. The aim is to reduce the trauma of diagnosis and give everyone access to the latest treatments.
July brought an exciting discovery – co-funded by Breakthrough T1D – that a drug commonly used to treat psoriasis could help young people with T1D keep making their own insulin for longer.
A clinical trial involving 72 newly-diagnosed teenagers showed that ustekinumab reduced the destructive impact of immune cells on the beta cells that make insulin. And the way it works is very precise, so it also had very few side effects.
Dr Danijela Tatovic, who led the research project, said “If such treatments can be started early, before all the insulin-making cells are lost, this could prevent or reduce the need for insulin.”
August saw big news from the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge with an investment of over £2.7 million into six new research projects that aim to revolutionise T1D treatment through novel insulins while we strive for a cure. The landmark funding captured the attention of national and international media, pushing T1D into the public eye and helping to raise awareness of the condition and the exciting research underway to tackle it.
The research teams will work towards developing ‘smart’ insulins that can respond to blood glucose levels, ultrafast-acting insulins, and a combination treatment that can both raise and lower glucose levels.
The exciting potential of these next-generation insulins was shown by researchers in China funded by Breakthrough T1D. They published a study showing that in animals, their prototype ‘smart’ treatment can detect rising blood glucose levels and release just enough insulin to correct it.
Another season, another international conference – the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting in Madrid – which brought more exciting advancements from this fast-moving field. We rounded-up the research highlights, including a study from Dundee suggesting that better education about physical activity could help people with T1D feel more confident about exercising.
Meanwhile closer to home, following the parliamentary inquiry into T1DE earlier in January, policymakers in Scotland launched guidance to help healthcare professionals recognise and treat people with T1DE effectively.
We excitedly announced our new name to the world – changing from JDRF to Breakthrough T1D. The rebrand better reflects our mission to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, treat and prevent T1D and its complications, through research and advocacy.
Our advocacy made more progress, with our Access for All report into the current state-of-play around diabetes technology. The report revealed that more people than ever are benefiting from improvements in diabetes tech, but there’s still a long way to go.
Karen Addington, our Chief Executive said: “Not everyone has equal access to these life-changing tools, and that needs to change.”
We announced our adoption of a new policy to encourage the researchers we fund to consider all sexes and genders in their research. Historically, male cells, animals and humans have been studied much more than female equivalents.
This means that discoveries made do not necessarily apply to female bodies. And big gaps in health data exist because research hasn’t always been designed inclusively. We’ve adopted this policy to ensure the research that we fund generates discoveries that benefit everyone affected by T1D.
We ended the year by funding four exploratory research projects by talented researchers at the start of their careers. The projects span the spectrum from early discovery science to very practical advancements. For instance, one is exploring the genetic differences of a specific type of cell in the pancreases of people with T1D, while another is testing a new type of dressing to help diabetic wounds heal more quickly.
These projects are only 12 months long, so we’re looking forward to receiving the results this time next year.
We began the year as JDRF, and we finish as Breakthrough T1D, but everything we stand for remains the same.
As we look forward to 2025 and beyond, we’re excited to see the first outcomes of research from the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, to continue to push policies and practice that will make life better for people at risk of and living with T1D, and to support more brilliant scientists giving their all to making type 1 diabetes a thing of the past.
Discover more of the ground-breaking research we fund to cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes.
Find out about our advocacy work to make treatments available for people living with type 1 diabetes in the UK.
Donate to Breakthrough T1D today to help fund our incredible research and advocacy work.
Sana Biotechnology, a US-based biotech company, has released clinical data showing that the first person receiving engineered islets from deceased donors is now producing insulin without the need for immunosuppressive drugs.
We’ve awarded four new grants to UK researchers to help improve lives and develop cures for people living with type 1 diabetes.
The framework aims to encourage UK researchers to consider different sexes (biological attributes) and genders (roles, behaviours and identity in society) to address gaps in health data.
Our Access for All report, launched today, highlights how far we’ve come with advancements in diabetes technology, but shows that many people still face barriers when trying to access T1D technology.
Immunotherapy, beta cell replacement, smart insulins – we’re driving research in the most promising areas to find cures and better treatments for type 1 diabetes.
