Novo Nordisk links with JDRF on type 1 diabetes R&D; type 2 study results

Danish insulin giant Novo Nordisk (NOV: N) is partnering with the US charitable organization JDRF to discover and develop novel immunotherapies to prevent, treat, and help cure the disease. The collaboration between JDRF and Novo Nordisk will focus on research originating from academia and biotechnology companies, as well as from internal research projects at Novo Nordisk.

"JDRF is deeply committed to developing immunotherapies, and especially auto antigen-specific immunotherapies for the prevention and cure of type 1 diabetes," said Richard Insel, JDRF's chief scientific officer, adding: "This collaboration with Novo Nordisk affords an exciting opportunity to accelerate the timeframe when these therapies may prove to make an impact in type 1 diabetes."

The collaboration with Novo Nordisk will be run out of the company's newly opened Type 1 Diabetes R&D Center in Seattle, USA. The center, led by Matthias von Herrath, plans to employ 20 immunotherapy researchers working in Seattle supported by corporate R&D functions in Princeton, NJ and Denmark. The center's goal is to use translational research methods to rapidly move early-stage discovery projects in immunotherapy from animal models into small clinical exploratory trials in T1D.