Lilly sponsors China-Europe diabetes R&D program

The European Association for the Study of Diabetes, the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes, the Chinese Diabetes Society and US drug major Eli Lilly have entered a long-term funding relationship for Chinese diabetes research.

The research partnership program, which was unveiled at the 43rd annual meeting of the EASD in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was established to promote collaborative diabetes research between Europe and China. "China is facing an alarming increase of diabetes patients and estimations for the year 2025 clearly show that rapid action is needed to investigate therapeutic solutions to meet the needs of millions of patients in our country," said Yang Wen Ying, president of the Chinese Diabetes Society.

Through a sponsorship from Lilly of 1.8 million euros ($2.5 million), one EASD post-graduate course and a number of EFSD research grants per year will be supported to encourage young Chinese researchers to investigate in the field of diabetes. "We believe that this partnership prepares the grounds to rapidly diffuse acquired knowledge and to facilitate its application in the country, as well as benefit our global understanding of the disease," said Ele Ferrannini, president of both the EASD and EFSD.