Last Updated on April 24, 2024
Johnson & Johnson, the famous medical and pharmaceutical company has been looking to make a dent in diabetes research. In 2015, the company launched a massive research partnership to find the cause of Type 1 diabetes and hopefully discover a cure.
Johnson & Johnson is well known for its Band-Aids, baby products, and Tylenol medications. They have over 250 subsidiary companies that work under the umbrella of Johnson & Johnson; one of those companies is Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute LLC. The Johnson & Johnson company’s products are sold in over 175 countries and had $65 billion in sale during 2011. Meaning that they obviously have a massive reach and plenty of resources to fund the research projects.
The research collaboration has around 24 different research studies and partnerships that are working on different areas of diabetes, and all of them have different goals of uncovering direct links and causes. These partnerships are with several universities, drug and diagnostic companies, government agencies, and patient advocacy organizations.
The most recent projects are working to determine which pregnant women could develop gestational diabetes, and the other is to determine and treat participants at risk of early stages chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The research looking at a pregnant woman would like to determine which biomarkers predict women developing gestational diabetes. Once they can isolate what is causing gestational diabetes they can begin to prevent it. Half of the women that have gestational diabetes will end up with type 2 diabetes, and their children will be eight times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
Another project that focuses on diabetes is revolved around Type 1 diabetes. This diabetes project is a partnership between Johnson’s & Johnson’s Pharmaceuticals branch and Washington University’s Professor Dr. Emil Unanue. Their goal is to be able to change the immune system so it will not destroy the beta cells while also protecting against infections. This project is being led by Dr. Joseph A. Hedrick. They are going to look at the antigen-presenting cells that work to “sample” tissue to find infections or tumors and when they do, they attack them.
This research study could have a huge impact on Type 1 diabetics. For years we have focused on treating the symptoms, in the past decade, this trend has changed. We have started looking into what is causing Type 1 diabetes, and working to reverse the effects. Solving the symptoms and finding new ways to help Type 1 diabetics live “normal lives” is a great goal, but it will never completely fix the problem.
Through the past couple of years, we have discovered what is happening inside of the body of a Type 1 diabetics once it happens. We still don’t know any of the causes or some of the risk factors or who is more likely to get Type 1 diabetes. The biggest problem, we don’t know how to cure it. There have been numerous attempts at trying new treatments and medications, but so far they have been less than perfect.
As these research projects mature, we could see some exciting news. Even if Johnson’s & Johnson’s projects don’t reveal any treatments or cures, any new information on the disease is an excellent step forward. The research may only uncover a small nugget of information about the compound disease that impacts so many lives across the world, but any new information is just another chance to provide a cure.
