Novo Nordisk to collaborate in diabetes research

Novo Nordisk has announced that it has joined with the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to form two programmes to enhance diabetes research in Europe.

The first programme will receive funding from Novo Nordisk, EASD and JDRF and investigate type one diabetes, while the second will be funded only by Novo Nordisk and EASD and be focussed on type two diabetes.

The partnership is a non-profit initiative with the companies pledging a total of 3.6 million euros (4.7 million pounds) between them for three years of research.

Peter Kurtzhals, senior vice president and head of diabetes research at Novo Nordisk, said: “We are proud to be part of this programme together with EASD and JDRF.”

He added that there remained “many barriers” before diabetes could be overcome as a disease and expressed hope that this forthcoming programme would play a role in removing some of these obstacles.

EASD was founded in Italy in 1965 and is made up of individual members, including scientists, physicians and students with an interest in diabetes. JDRF was founded in 1970 by parents of children with type one diabetes and has since then awarded over $1 billion (0.51 million pounds) to the research of diabetes.