New Type 2 Diabetes Research Center to Open in UK

30 Jan 2017 --- A Type 2 Diabetes research center is to be set up at The University of Oxford. Funding and support will be from the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, who is investing around £115 million ($144.1 million) in the 10-year partnership.

Industrial and academic researchers will work side by side on early stage research.

Their ambition is that this collaboration will lead to a new generation of treatments to improve the lives of people with type 2 diabetes.

A well-respected researcher into insulin, diabetes and related conditions has been appointed to lead the facility. Professor James D. Johnson is currently at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

Diabetes UK director of research Dr Elizabeth Robertson said: “Research into Type 2 diabetes needs urgent investment, given the scale of its impact across the globe.”

“The collaboration highlights the strength of diabetes research and development in the UK.”

“Diabetes UK has invested over £10 million ($12.5 million) research at the University of Oxford in the last ten years alone, and it’s fantastic to see partnerships between industry and academia joining our fight against the growing crisis in diabetes.”

“We’re currently investing around £15 million ($18.8 million) in Type 2 diabetes research. Our own research strategy sets out the scale of the problem we are facing, the vital need for new investment, and sets out our ambitious goals for 2015-19.”

“Among those are our plans to give people with diabetes a louder voice in research and make sure that we grow the next generation of leading diabetes researchers.”