Type 1 Diabetes

Recent improvements in therapies have yet to translate to better outcomes for many people living with T1D.  To change this, we need a reboot in how people connect with their providers and manage their condition – regardless of geography. Helmsley invests in new approaches to care focused both on meeting people where they are, and on treating individuals and their unique needs – not just their symptoms. Telemedicine has an important role to play. So, too, does expanding the base of experts available to the T1D community, especially in places without easy access to specialty care.

Glucose control is front-and-center in the lives of people with T1D, and yet we still lack a complete understanding of the myriad factors that cause glucose levels to rise and fall throughout the day. In addition to funding research to enhance our knowledge, we invest in technologies that hold tremendous promise for improving glucose management and health outcomes for the T1D community. We are committed to empowering individuals with information and better tools to successfully manage the condition. This includes advances in preventing hypoglycemia, and improving automated insulin delivery systems as well as access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM), which have revolutionized T1D care. Our vision is to ease the burden of managing T1D and instead focus on living and thriving.

Knowing if an individual is pre-disposed is essential for monitoring and intervening early to mitigate complications at diagnosis. We support expansion of screening programs to identify those at risk, who may also benefit from early-stage efforts to prevent or delay onset.

Understanding how to prevent the autoimmune attack on the body that stops insulin-producing beta cells from functioning – and thus preventing T1D – is a priority area for investment. So, too, is research on how to delay the progression of T1D once the immune attack has occurred.

Our investments in innovative drugs include targeted immunotherapies designed to protect insulin-producing beta cells, as well as in therapies that restore alpha cell function and that could minimize hypoglycemia.

T1D can be a death sentence when insulin supply chains are fractured, or high costs make insulin and other essential T1D-mangement tools unaffordable. Helmsley supports efforts to ensure that everyone who needs insulin and other supplies can get them at low or no cost. We are addressing immediate needs that help people survive today while tackling longer-term challenges that will lead to systems-level improvements in the future.

T1D is one of many chronic conditions and non-communicable diseases endured by countless individuals across low-and middle-income countries, where health systems are not yet equipped to provide the necessary care for people to thrive. Helmsley is committed to global partnerships to advance quality care across geographies – knowing that stronger systems for all will benefit those with T1D along with hundreds of millions of others and their families, communities, and nations.