Boehringer Ingelheim and EFSD provide diabetes research funding

Boehringer Ingelheim and the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD) have announced the first beneficiaries of their new diabetes research funding scheme.

A total of 2.5 million euros (2.15 million pounds) will be provided to three winning projects as part of the EFSD/Boehringer Ingelheim European Diabetes Research Programmes, which are designed to support cutting-edge research into the disease.

The selected recipients are Stefan Amisten of King's College London, Hiddo Heerspink of the University Medical Center Groningen and Markus van der Giet of the Charity University Berlin.

Boehringer Ingelheim is hoping to encourage innovation in two areas – regulating the secretion and/or function of non-insulin peptides from the endocrine pancreas and mechanisms relating renal dysfunction to cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes.

Professor Klaus Dugi, corporate senior vice-president for medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "These grants reflect our continued commitment to supporting medical innovation in diabetes research, a disease which affects over 370 million people worldwide."

Earlier this week, the firm announced a collaboration with Healthrageous and United BioSource to evaluate the potential benefits of a new digital technology-enabled self-management solution for diabetes patients.