A Liverpool millionaire has donated £50m to help cure type 1 diabetes.
Steve Morgan, the founder of housing firm Redrow, will make the donation through the Steve Morgan Foundation. It is the largest-ever single gift in the UK for diabetes research, reports BusinessLive.
The donation will fund the SMF Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge over five years. This will "cultivate collaboration" between researchers, scientific organisations and diabetes charities to "drive innovation and accelerate research breakthroughs worldwide" and will be led by Diabetes UK and JDRF UK.
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Steve and Sally Morgan's son Hugo was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of seven. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
As a result, the pancreas can no longer make insulin and blood sugar levels become dangerously high. People with type 1 diabetes need to monitor their blood sugar levels and calculate the exact amount of insulin to take, several times a day.
In a joint statement, Mr and Mrs Morgan said: "We’re so incredibly proud to announce this landmark partnership with Diabetes UK and JDRF UK. With the expertise of the two leading diabetes charities in the UK, and our shared ambition to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes, the SMF Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge will supercharge type 1 diabetes research, with the aim of having new treatments and ultimately a cure.
"We know from our own experience the impact that type 1 diabetes has on family life – it’s something we carry with us every day. But with research we can change that, and allow people with type 1 diabetes and their families to live without this relentless, lifelong condition.
"We want this ground-breaking partnership to inspire and motivate other funders to join in the shared ambition of the SMF Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, paving the way for a better future for those living with type 1 diabetes and their families."
The SMF Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge will focus on three key research areas:
- Treatments to stop the immune system’s destruction of insulin-producing beta cells
- Treatments to replace or rescue insulin-producing beta cells
- Novel insulins, for example those that respond to changing blood sugar levels
Chris Askew, chief executive at Diabetes UK, added: "We’re delighted to launch this prestigious partnership with the Steve Morgan Foundation and JDRF UK. This unparalleled investment will change the course of type 1 diabetes research forever, galvanising the diabetes research community and accelerating us towards a cure that will change millions of lives not only in the UK but worldwide.
"We’re incredibly grateful to Steve and Sally Morgan for their £50 million investment and their commitment to transforming the lives of people with type 1 diabetes. This is a call to arms for the scientific community, and we look forward to working with JDRF UK to unite the brightest minds in type 1 diabetes research to fuel new breakthroughs, together.
"For the last 100 years insulin has been the only treatment for the condition, but this pivotal moment for type 1 diabetes marks the dawn of a new century of discovery. Type 1 diabetes is relentless, but so are we, and this investment catapults us towards a world where type 1 diabetes finally relents, and diabetes can do no harm."
Karen Addington, chief executive at JDRF UK, said: "This ground-breaking partnership, the UK’s largest ever single philanthropic gift for type 1 diabetes research, will catalyse medical research in a way never done before. In this golden age of type 1 diabetes research, advances in immunotherapy and stem cell research have put us within touching distance of functional cures.
"JDRF was founded on the values and practice of collaboration, both in the UK and internationally, and together with the Steve Morgan Foundation and Diabetes UK, we will drive research further, leading from the UK and drawing on JDRF’s global network of research excellence. I always think about the critically ill, eleven-year-old boy, Leonard Thompson whose life was saved 100 years ago, the first person ever to receive a dose of insulin.
"The Nobel Prize winning discovery of insulin was one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. Together, through the SMF Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge we will match the ambition of those scientists a century ago in our drive and expertise to cure type 1 diabetes."
