Type 1 Diabetes
Improving Lives Today, Investing in a Better Tomorrow
Improving Lives Today, Investing in a Better Tomorrow
The Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) program is dedicated to helping the global T1D community live safer, better, and more fulfilling lives today while funding advancements in research and technology for a better tomorrow.
T1D is an autoimmune disease, and the only one requiring day-to-day management that includes regular dosing decisions with a drug (insulin) that can cause death. It’s a lifelong condition that poses significant burdens on individuals, their loved ones, and on health systems in the United States and around the world.
Current access to care and existing therapies fall short of easing these burdens, and incrementalism is not an option. Helmsley invests in ideas that have the potential for significant impact. We embrace high-risk efforts, led by dedicated leaders who will be partners and share our vision.
Helmsley’s Type 1 Diabetes Program will host a one-day industry session on the occasion of the 60th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.
Save the date for this scientific meeting exploring the latest research in how alpha and delta cell dysfunction leads to hypoglycemia, and efforts to therapeutically restore the body’s ability to reverse it.
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.
June 25, 2024
February 13, 2024
December 8, 2023
September 10, 2024
NEW YORK, N.Y., September, 6, 2024 – The New Venture Fund (NVF), a public charity that works to achieve a healthier, more equitable world, has launched a request for proposals for the Type 1 Diabetes Camps Project: 2025-2027 Campership Initiative. This initiative seeks applications from diabetes camping organizations nationwide serving youth living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their families….
September 5, 2024
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A recently released study demonstrates the ECHO Model is an effective intervention for improving diabetes care in rural settings. The study examined whether rural health care providers, who participated in weekly ECHO telementoring sessions, could help people with diabetes achieve similar outcomes as patients seen by endocrinology specialists working in an academic medical center. The study found…
August 19, 2024
For the millions of people uprooted by crisis or conflict, finding adequate health care can be nearly impossible. Displaced populations often face already overwhelmed health systems — and the strain on resources makes it harder for people to access necessary care. This is especially dangerous for people living with chronic noncommunicable diseases like type 1 diabetes (T1D), who face immediate…
June 26, 2024
NEW YORK, June 26, 2024 — The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust announced today a $1.4 million grant, with a matching component, to support the growth of the Kyler Cares Foundation. Kyler Cares is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health outcomes for underserved youth living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) by sharing educational resources, increasing access to…
December 18, 2023
Recognizing the critical need for access to quality diabetes care in humanitarian settings, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust today announces a $2.6 million grant to the International Alliance for Diabetes Action (IADA) to address diabetes within the context of rising global displacement.
December 12, 2023
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) means that all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship. The concept of UHC is powerful, but putting it into practice has proven incredibly challenging. When Helmsley co-hosted an event with UNICEF USA and Eli Lilly on “Accelerating Progress on Childhood…
$1.1B
committed
840+
grants awarded
50+
countries reached