T1D Exchange, the first program of Unitio, a nonprofit organization that helps build patient community and research platforms dedicated to eradicating chronic diseases such as type 1 diabetes, and Eli Lilly have entered into a research collaboration that will enable both organizations to gain deeper, real-world insight about the experience of people with type 1 diabetes, to identify new ways to improve care and advance outcomes.

As part of this multi-year collaboration, the organizations will engage in a range of projects that combine Lilly's long history and experience in type 1 diabetes with T1D Exchange's innovative, patient-centric model that connects a clinic registry of more than 26,000 people with T1D, a clinic network comprised of more than 70 clinics across the U.S., a sample repository that stores patient biosamples and Glu, a patient and caregiver online community for T1D. The collaboration will involve multiple projects over an initial five-year period.

"Lilly's commitment to supporting people with type 1 diabetes dates back to 1923, when we introduced the first commercially available insulin," said Dara Schuster, M.D., medical fellow, Lilly Diabetes. "Having access to the resources of T1D Exchange to bolster our understanding of the needs of people with type 1 diabetes, their caregivers and health care providers will help us continue our mission of addressing the global diabetes burden through the development of innovative medicines and programs." 

The first project of the collaboration will assess user experience associated with insulin pumps and multiple daily injections. Initially, T1D Exchange data will be analyzed to inform development of a survey of healthcare providers from the clinic network and members of the Glu community. Following the survey, a study of clinic registry participants is planned, to further shed light on how insulin pumps are used and how multiple daily injections occur in real-world practice. Data and recommendations from this research will be shared publicly once analysis is complete, for the benefit of both the type 1 diabetes and researcher communities.

"The T1D Exchange Clinic Registry was established to provide real-world data on a large number of children and adults with type 1 diabetes to serve as a resource for both academic and company researchers," said Dr. Roy Beck, director, T1D Exchange Clinic Coordinating Center, executive director, JAEB Center for Health Research. "This collaboration with Lilly is a great example of how the registry data can be used to address key issues that are important to individuals with type 1 diabetes."