City of Hope, in partnership with The Wanek Family Project for Type 1 Diabetes, is accelerating toward cures for type 1 diabetes with new advancements in research and transformational clinical trials launching this year. Funded by a $50 million vision led by the Wanek family in 2017, the partnership has achieved substantial milestones in diabetes research and is committed to turning science into cures.
Enabled by a series of highly focused programs that use an integrated approach, coupled with the deep scientific and clinical expertise at City of Hope, the Wanek Family Project has developed three promising novel therapeutic platforms and initiated four in-human clinical trials, showcasing the leading-edge innovation that can only be achieved at this pace in an entrepreneurial research environment.
In type 1 diabetes, a chronic health condition impacting millions of people globally, insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas are destroyed via an autoimmune attack, leading to a critical inability to produce insulin and control blood sugar, necessitating lifesaving treatments, such as insulin pumps or injections. While the availability of human recombinant insulin — made possible by the seminal work of Arthur Riggs, Ph.D., at City of Hope represents a significant advance in treating and managing type 1 diabetes, the work to find cures continues.
Two Requirements for Type 1 Diabetes Cures
Since 2017, the Wanek Family Project has advanced 53 innovative research projects. The pace has been swift — with studies such as CAR T regulatory cells, designed to modulate the immune system and suppress the autoimmune attack, moving from lab to clinical trial in less than four years — a pace seldom matched.
“This critical initiative has transformed the landscape of diabetes research, turning hope into a tangible reality for those affected by the condition,” said Debbie C. Thurmond, Ph.D., director of the Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute at City of Hope and Chan Soon-Shiong Shapiro Distinguished Chair in Diabetes. “Thanks to the visionary support of the Wanek Family Project, coupled with City of Hope’s deep research expertise, we developed a therapeutic approach, which has the potential to lead to the first functional cures for type 1 diabetes, impacting patients everywhere — this progress is being made possible and the pace of discovery accelerated by the generous gift from the Wanek family.”
Changing the Research Dialogue for Type 1 Diabetes
For patients with early onset type 1 diabetes who still retain some healthy beta cells, immune system modulation and beta cell support are needed to preserve the residual ability to make insulin, which is a tangible benefit. However, as time goes by, most patients with established type 1 diabetes have lost too many beta cells and cannot produce meaningful amounts of insulin. Ultimately, beta cell replacement is critical, either via existing transplant methods or novel regeneration. The Wanek Family Project's achievements highlight focused, disciplined research, with studies in immune system modulation and functional restoration of beta cells already in clinical trials benefiting patients. Some of the world’s first clinical trials using beta cell regeneration are being planned for the near future in an effort to reverse established type 1 diabetes. By focusing on immune system modulation, beta cell protection, restoration and regeneration, the Wanek Family Project has embraced a comprehensive, three-part therapeutic approach that addresses the root causes of type 1 diabetes and aims to treat patients at all disease stages.
A Major Catalyst for Type 1 Diabetes Research
“The great progress we have made in type 1 diabetes is a testament to the power of this philanthropic partnership and City of Hope's unflagging commitment to finding cures,” said Alberto Pugliese, M.D., director of the Wanek Family Project and Samuel Rahbar Distinguished Chair in Diabetes & Drug Discovery. “Although there is still work to be done, in the past year, we have focused the Wanek Family Project into a translational clinical phase. To this end, we are expanding our clinical trial efforts to advance the most promising therapies that can provide effective immune system modulation and support the function of beta cells. In parallel, we are developing novel therapies to induce beta cell regeneration and aim to test those in trials soon. With all of these approaches combined, we are pushing the frontier of diabetes research and aim to benefit all patients with type 1 diabetes.”