Despite a history steeped in diabetes-related breakthroughs (the discovery of insulin and a track record of performing more insulin-producing cell transplants than any other country), Canada is at risk of losing ground to global peers who are rapidly advancing clinical trials and commercialization at the national level.
While multiple cell-based therapies are already in or nearing clinical trials at Canadian sites, we lack the mechanisms to unify and translate this research into viable commercial opportunities.
At the macro level, the absence of a coordinated, pan-Canadian approach in diabetes and regenerative medicine is setting us back in terms of our sovereignty, economic self-sufficiency and public health policy.
And for the more than 300,000 Canadians living with type 1 diabetes (T1D), a chronic autoimmune condition with no cure that requires daily lifelong management, this means setbacks to a curative breakthrough that could dramatically improve quality of life. What’s more, progress for a cure for T1D also will have far-reaching implications for cancer, rare diseases and organ repair discoveries.
After a T1D diagnosis nearly 30 years ago, I was galvanized to step into the world of diabetes advocacy – combatting stigma and misconceptions and calling for more to be done to ensure quality care. The urgency I felt then hasn’t faded: Canada must act now to chart a new course in diabetes and regenerative medicine.
As the leading player in funding T1D research, Breakthrough T1D Canada (formally JDRF) has proposed establishing the Breakthrough T1D Network for Canada (BTNC), a pan-Canadian effort that would harness Canada’s collective expertise in regenerative medicine to focus on nurturing the most promising T1D therapies.
The BTNC would facilitate a commercialization pipeline at scale, engage industry partner support and increase the chances that discoveries remain on Canadian soil. Importantly, the BTNC would centralize a national portfolio of T1D cell therapy trials and trial-enabling projects, accelerating progress and discoveries. This national network would then help prepare Canada for manufacturing at scale and turn discoveries into Canadian businesses.
To facilitate the BTNC, we are calling on the federal government to invest $62 million over the next five years, matched by $25 million in committed donor dollars from Breakthrough T1D Canada and a $13 million secured commitment from industry and research institutions. This public-private partnership model aligns incentives, shares risk and leverages private and philanthropic capital to maximize impact.
Investing in health R&D buoys the economy, creates better patient outcomes and reduces health care costs. The federal government has an opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to Canada’s medical and scientific capacity, and to future-proof our economic and health prosperity for generations to come.
In today’s fraught and volatile political climate, a coordinated strategy to link regenerative medicine research efforts across the country will help strengthen Canada’s readiness to attract global investment and ensure that made-in-Canada breakthroughs stay in Canada. For example, insulin and GLP-1 receptor agonists were synthesized in Canadian labs yet we have lost out on realizing billions of dollars in the resulting commercial opportunities.
Most importantly, a pan-Canadian network for T1D research would bring us closer to a cure, a welcome reprieve for 300,000 Canadians daily grappling with the condition.
