The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust awarded more than $6.5 million in grants to seven recipients seeking to develop new technologies to help people living with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). The grants were made through the Trust’s T1D program as part of their Emerging Technology Initiative that funds earlier stage projects focused on drugs, devices, or therapies, and then moves them down the path towards commercialization.
The initiative was launched via a proposal process in the spring of 2012 and the Trust accepted applications and awarded grants to non-profits and for-profit organizations. More than 100 applications were submitted over the latter half of 2012 with seven applications approved for funding.
The grants were awarded to:
- Case Western Reserve University—for $997,500 over three years to study “Smart Insulin-Glucose-Responsive Design of an Ultra-Rapid Subcutaneous Depot”
- Cell and Molecular Tissue Engineering LLC—for $996,000 over three years to Develop and Validate Coating that can Enhance and Extend CGM Sensor Performance
- Latitude Pharmaceuticals, Inc.—for $1,000,000 over two years to study Stabilized Glucagon Formulations
- Pacific Diabetes Technologies—for $999,800 over two years to develop a “Dual-Function Glucose Sensing and Hormone Delivery Catheter for Use Within an Artificial Pancreas”
- Regents of the University of Michigan—for $805,550 over three years to “Improve Performance and Biocompatibility of Implantable Glucose Sensors Using Coatings that Secrete Nitric Oxide”
- Stanford University School of Medicine—for $846,530 over three years to develop “Insulin Infusion Sets with Prolonged Wear to be Combined with a Glucose Sensor on a Shared Platform”
- Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc.—for $928,700 over two years to develop a “Glucagon Mini-Dose Pen for the Treatment of Moderate Hypoglycemia”
Since 2008, the Trust has committed more than $800 million to a wide range of charitable organizations. Through the Helmsley Type 1 Diabetes Program, the Trust is one of the largest private funders of T1D related research, treatment, and support programs.
For more information, go to www.helmsleytrust.org.