JDRF and PureTech, a technology development company, have announced the launch of T1D Innovations, a novel venture-creating entity designed to accelerate the development of innovative Type 1 diabetes therapies as part of PureTech’s broader “Valley of Life” initiative; an effort designed to commercialize breakthroughs in areas of great unmet medical need by bringing together interested companies, disease foundations, and investors.
T1D Innovations will create and fund high-impact companies developing innovative Type 1 diabetes-related therapies, enabling them to cross the well-known biomedical “valley of death” – the notorious gap that often prevents promising biomedical discoveries from being translated into patient-saving products.
JDRF is the first investor in T1D Innovations, and its $5 million investment commitment is driven by T1D Innovations’ clear potential to help achieve JDRF’s mission-driven goals. PureTech will combine JDRF’s investment with those from other leading not-for-profit, strategic, and financial investors to create a resource pool with the potential to have a meaningful impact on the T1D product pipeline. Additional investors will be required to achieve the objectives of this initiative. Investors will also participate in any financial returns. T1D Innovations will enable and accelerate the development and progress of opportunities aligned with JDRF’s research priorities, placing an emphasis on therapies that help restore or maintain glycemic control or have the potential of restoring normal physiology for people living with or at risk for developing Type 1 diabetes. JDRF’s funding of T1D Innovations represents a multi-year commitment to this effort.
In addition to JDRF’s leadership role in this initiative, Special Partners Joslin Diabetes Center and T1D Exchange will bring their valuable scientific, clinical, and patient engagement capabilities to the collaboration.
JDRF President and CEO Jeffrey Brewer stated, “T1D Innovations is a unique opportunity to fund entrepreneurial activity at the translational stage of the type 1 diabetes product pipeline, allowing us to drive the most commercially promising type 1 diabetes research projects into the clinic while leveraging the co-investment of other partners. This new initiative complements JDRF’s current grant making and industry partnering activities, which are respectively focused on early stage exploratory research and later stage product development opportunities. Now, by supporting company formation around breakthrough type 1 diabetes research and working at each phase of the R&D pipeline, JDRF is better positioned to achieve our goal of delivering progressively advanced therapies to individuals living with or at risk of type 1 diabetes. We are excited to work with PureTech and access their unique entrepreneurial expertise toward advancing our mission.”
PureTech, with deep expertise in translating health innovations to address major medical needs, sees collaboration with leading not-for-profits such as JDRF as a critical step in driving medical innovation forward in the 21st century. David Steinberg, PureTech Partner, said, “JDRF is one of the most innovative and successful disease foundations in the world and we are thrilled to be working alongside them to tackle this critical disease in an exciting new way. We’ve developed a unique financial, legal, and entrepreneurial framework to foster innovation and we look forward to working with the type 1 diabetes community to make it a success.”
