Type 1 Diabetes—Reaping the Rewards of a Targeted Research Investment

The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) precipitated a major research effort to develop new approaches to achieve near-normal glycemic control in real-world settings in people with type 1 diabetes. Toward that end, a unique funding stream from the U.S. Congress—the Special Statutory Funding Program for Type 1 Diabetes Research—has provided nearly $2.5 billion for research into the prevention, cure, and treatment of type 1 diabetes since 1998. This funding generated a targeted, sustained investment in type 1 diabetes research with six specific goals: identifying new therapeutic targets through the understanding of disease etiology and pathogenesis, preventing or reversing the disease, developing cell replacement therapy, improving management and care, preventing or reducing the complications, and attracting new talent and applying new technologies to type 1 diabetes research. This Perspective describes exciting results that have emerged from the investment and further advances on the horizon, including artificial pancreas technologies, new therapies for diabetic retinopathy, and breakthroughs in laboratory production of β-cells. The recent program extension enables us to build on this foundation and pursue key new initiatives to harness emerging technologies and develop the next generation of type 1 diabetes researchers.