The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and InnoCentive, Inc., the pioneer in open innovation and crowdsourcing, announced a $100,000 Challenge calling for innovative ways to approach the discovery and development of a glucose-responsive insulin drug as a means to treat insulin-dependent diabetes. The Challenge is open to the public and can be found on the InnoCentive website.
JDRF is harnessing InnoCentive’s Challenge Platform and Global Solver Community to uncover solutions for a transformative and sophisticated insulin drug for patients with diabetes to improve glucose control, decrease or eliminate the need to test or monitor blood glucose levels, and reduce their chances of short- and long-term diabetic complications.
Through this challenge, JDRF’s ultimate goal is to discover a glucose-responsive insulin drug that would work only when the body needs it. Glucose-responsive insulin would deliver the precise amount of insulin needed in response to circulating glucose levels and to control and maintain normal blood glucose levels throughout a daily routine with once-daily or less frequent dosing in people with diabetes.
“Today, 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,” said Aaron Kowalski, Ph.D., assistant Vice President of Treatment Therapies at JDRF.
“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,” Dr. Kowalski continued. 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.”
“JDRF is an organization that recognizes the importance of innovation in the healthcare industry,” said Dwayne Spradlin, president and CEO of InnoCentive. “This approach of looking beyond traditional researchers to gain new insights, ideas, and solutions illustrates their commitment to finding a better way to treat diabetes. We are excited to be partnering with JDRF finding new ways to enhance the quality of life for patients while helping patients better manage their disease.”
In recent months, InnoCentive’s unique approach to problem solving has led to numerous healthcare solutions, including the identification of a biomarker for ALS, a new delivery method for folic acid to women in third world countries, and a new approach to encourage community behavior to help chronically ill teens manage their own health.
This Challenge is open to anyone with a solution that fits the published criteria, and requires only a written proposal. Submissions for this Challenge will be accepted through November 9, 2011.
Really, only 100K, I would give my 401k and make it 200k if they would really permit a cure or somthing like this Glucose-Re?sponsive Insulin to be available to the public. But I’m sure this will be like all the other great discoverys that you read about that got my hopes up for my son, only to get swept under the fda carpet never to be heard of again. I’m sorry to say I am starting to think the people saying that there is to much money to be lost by helping the kids and adults fighting every day… Read more »