T1D Exchange and M2D2 Announce the Winners of the First Annual Diabetes Innovation Challenge

T1D Exchange, an organization dedicated to accelerating research and improving outcomes in type 1 diabetes, and M2D2, a joint venture of the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Worcester campuses that incubates medical device startups, named Integrated Medical and Enable Biosciences as the co-winners of the new Diabetes Innovation Challenge. The competition is the first-ever, open, worldwide challenge to identify and accelerate transformational advancements in diabetes research and care.
 
The early-to-preclinical stage winner is Integrated Medical of Irvine, Calif. The company is developing a fully-integrated, low cost, implantable, wireless, continuous glucose monitoring platform.
 
The late-stage winner (pre-clinical through translational) is Enable Biosciences. Based in San Francisco, Calif., the biotech company is developing ultrasensitive antibody detection technologies for clinical diagnostics and research.
 
“It is essential we do all that we can to support and inspire those who are working to develop groundbreaking approaches to find, foster and facilitate the next generation of impactful solutions for the millions living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes,” said Dana Ball, executive director and co-founder of T1D Exchange. “Providing the resources to support, invest, and mentor these exciting ideas and products allows them to develop into real, impactful solutions and innovations for those living with diabetes.”
 
The co-winners will share up to $150,000 cash and in-kind services provided by T1D Exchange and M2D2, and a number of sponsors, including lead sponsors the American Diabetes Association  and JDRF.
 
“We were really interested in identifying new, young companies that are innovating to bring treatments and solutions for people with type 1 diabetes,” said Aaron Kowalski, chief mission officer of JDRF. “This has been a great opportunity to see what’s out in the startup landscape, and we are excited to see what’s to come from the winners.”
 
“Getting bright, young minds from fields outside of endocrinology is critical for moving the needle to improve outcomes for people with diabetes,” said Robert E. Ratner, M.D., chief scientific and medical officer of American Diabetes Association. “The Association is thrilled to have been a part of the Diabetes Innovation Challenge with T1D Exchange and M2D2. It has been a successful program to stimulate creativity and unique approaches to revolutionize how we care for people with diabetes moving forward.”
 
T1D Exchange, a program of Unitio, was founded on the belief that improving outcomes in type 1 diabetes (T1D) requires a new approach—one that helps researchers conduct better research faster; better research because it’s patient-driven and more informed; faster research because T1D Exchange provides researchers with access to resources they need to conduct clinical studies. Its model offers researchers access to aggregated clinical, biological, patient-reported outcomes and electronic health record data, all while fostering collaboration among patients, physicians, researchers and industry. The model is multi-faceted and complex, but the goal is to tangibly improve outcomes for people with type 1 diabetes.

M2D2, the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center, is a joint initiative of the Lowell and Worcester campuses of the UMass system. Its aim is to help new biotech and medical device entrepreneurs develop products every step of the way, from proof-of-concept to commercialization. Affiliated faculty and staff have assisted more than 100 start-up companies and entrepreneurs since the program kicked off in the spring of 2007.