Novo Nordisk invests $20m in diabetes research following study
pharmafile | November 16, 2015 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing |Â Â Â
Novo Nordisk has unveiled plans to combat urban diabetes in a $20 million investment offering expert resources and research funds by 2020, following findings from an international research study by University College London (UCL) focusing on the increase of diabetes in cities.
The findings from the study as part of the ‘Cities Changing Diabetes’ partnership programme suggest that in cities around the world, social and cultural factors play a far more important role in the spread of the diabetes epidemic than previously thought.
Lars Rebien Sørensen, president and chief executive of Novo Nordisk comments: “We have a longstanding commitment to provide more than just pharmaceuticals to the fight against diabetes. Research of this nature illustrates precisely why we initiated Cities Changing Diabetes – to fundamentally change the trajectory of the disease through targeted actions informed by new understanding.”
More than two thirds of the world’s 400 million people with diabetes live in urban areas. The year-long study for Cities Changing Diabetes, a unique public-private-academic partnership, sought to better understand what makes people vulnerable to type 2 diabetes in cities, in order to inform solutions for one of the most pressing modern-day public health challenges.
To explore this complex issue, more than 550 interviews were undertaken with at-risk and diagnosed people in five major cities: Copenhagen, Houston, Mexico City, Shanghai and Tianjin.
The study found that the diabetes vulnerability in cities is linked to a complex mix of social and cultural factors responsible for both putting people at greater initial risk and subsequently making them less likely to be diagnosed, receive treatment and maintain good health.
David Napier, professor of medical anthropology, UCL, says: “By largely focusing on biomedical risk factors for diabetes, traditional research has not adequately accounted for the impact of social and cultural drivers of disease.” He adds: “Our pioneering research will enable cities worldwide to help populations adapt to lifestyles that make them less vulnerable to diabetes.”
The identified social factors included financial, geographical, resource and time constraints while cultural determinants included the perception of body size and health and deep-seated traditions.
In the longer-term, the partnership aims to tackle the rise of diabetes in cities around the world via the sharing of insights and knowledge of participants. In 2016, Vancouver and Johannesburg will become the latest cities to join the programme and contribute to the international pool of evidence.
Yasmita Kumar
