Breakthrough T1D, formerly JDRF, is the leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization.
Breakthrough T1D helps make everyday life with T1D better while driving toward cures. We invest in the most promising research to turn ideas into life-changing therapies and devices. We work with government, regulatory officials, and insurance companies to address issues that impact the T1D community— breaking through barriers that delay development of innovative therapies. We also provide resources and guidance that make it easier for the T1D community to live and thrive with this condition.
Burden of T1D
Today, more than 37 million Americans have diabetes and 96 million have prediabetes. As a result of the breadth and impact, the total annual cost for diabetes in 2022 was $412.9 billion.
Of those with diabetes, Breakthrough T1D estimates that 1.5 million people have T1D, an unpreventable autoimmune condition where the body destroys the cells that produce insulin, a hormone that everyone needs to get energy from the food they eat. To live, people with T1D require insulin by injections or through an insulin pump. Although progress has been made in managing T1D, it still results in premature death, reduced life expectancy of at least 10 years, significant complications ranging from eye disease to heart disease and strokes and a substantial daily burden for those affected.
Research Progress
Biomedical research is critical to gain further understanding, advance therapies, and find cures for T1D. Breakthrough T1D accelerates the path to cures by raising funds and allocating them to T1D research and therapy development, as well as by leveraging our expertise and leadership to bring in additional funding and supporters. The organization has committed over $2.5 billion in research grants since its founding in 1970, but we can’t do it alone.
Breakthrough T1D’s private funding works hand in hand with the federally funded Special Diabetes Program (SDP) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to ensure that the most important and promising research projects have the support they need. Because of strong bipartisan support, and the steadfast leadership of Senate Diabetes Caucus Co-Chairs, Senators Susan Collins and Jeanne Shaheen, the SDP has helped to fundamentally change what it means to live with diabetes, put new life-changing therapies in our hands, and brought us closer to cures. The SDP has played a key role in nearly every significant T1D scientific advancement since its creation in 1997, including Tzield, the first disease-modifying therapy for T1D which can delay the onset of the disease by up to three years, and automated insulin delivery systems, which have transformed the management of T1D and are now standard of care.
The next breakthrough will be cell therapies—which have the potential to cure T1D. These therapies are in human clinical trials, and they’re working. We have an incredible opportunity in front of us. We can cure type 1 diabetes.
Role of Federal Funding & Risks of Research Cuts
These advancements will only happen if a strong research partnership between the public and private sectors continues. We cannot lose momentum. Absent continued strong support by the federal government, particularly at NIH and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), advances will slow significantly, while the costs of diabetes continue to rise exponentially.
While Breakthrough T1D supports having the most efficient government agencies and programs while maintaining momentum toward type 1 diabetes cures, we’re concerned about agency staffing cuts and reports that the Administration plans to severely cut funding for NIH, FDA, and other agencies that support the T1D community. We know critical T1D research is already being impacted by NIH grants that have been terminated and through reviews and renewals of research that have been delayed. In just the last three months, vital T1D research has been slowed.
The significant proposed cuts to indirect research costs will also be detrimental to medical progress in T1D. These funds support essential infrastructure that makes research possible. Immediate indirect cost cuts will significantly impact T1D research, including programs under the SDP, and some may not be able to continue. Maintaining strong federal support for the entire research enterprise has been key to past progress, and these potential cost cuts risk halting that progress.
Another critical function of the NIH is training the next generation of researchers. Right now, due to proposed cuts, research institutions are accepting fewer students. The people who might one day cure T1D may not have a place in a graduate school—and that would be devastating. Further, early career researchers and scientists have been let go at NIH and FDA as part of the probationary reduction in force. Others are considering not entering or continuing in the biomedical research field due to an uncertain future. Taken together, these actions have already had an effect on our next generation of researchers.
Our community has partnered with scientists at NIH and the FDA to advance life-changing T1D breakthroughs for decades. We can tell you with absolute certainty that we need the NIH researchers, NIH grantees, and the committed staff and leaders at the FDA to continue progress.
Dramatic budget cuts will impart a significant blow to our shared goal: making Americans healthier by curing T1D. We urge the Committee and Congress to make funding decisions with a full understanding of the impact on medical research and cures for T1D and many other life-threatening conditions.
Thank you for your consideration of our views.
