Memorandum
JDRF is calling for proposals to improve infusion set duration of wear, with the ultimate goal of matching CGM wear (! we love how ambitious this is – very aspirational). As the JDRF informational page (this was pretty under the radar screen) notes, CGMs “are transitioning to 14-day wear from 7 days,” while insulin sets are stuck at 72-hour wear (and in some patients, as little as 24 hours). Proposals are expected to identify common mechanisms of infusion set failure (e.g., protein deposition, inflammation and wound healing, fibrosis), or to demonstrate effective mitigation (e.g., drug-eluting materials, cannula coatings or surface treatments, insulin excipients). JDRF wants a clear pathway to commercial viability, and the organization will put an emphasis on novel strategies. Winners will receive milestone-based funding over two years – the amount will depend on the scope of the project. For-profit and non-profit institutions can apply, and expressions of interest are due by Tuesday, September 22, with a full proposal due by Tuesday, December 1 (JDRF will get back to applicants by Wednesday, October 21st). Applicants will be notified by March 2016, enabling a start as early as April 2016. If interested, find more information here and please email JDRF’s Vincent Crabtree (vcrabtree@jdrf.org) for more information. This is a critical area as the field thinks about improved CGM+pump wearability – we love that lofty thought of a combined 14-day CGM+pump set! How many more patients would adopt both technologies if that was the case? We assume the likes of Unomedical and BD might apply for this RFP, and perhaps academic groups like Stanford and Yale might too. We give kudos to JDRF for pushing to reduce the burden of technology, which will be critical to expand artificial pancreas uptake beyond early adopters already on CGM and pumps. We don’t know what the level of funding is – presumably the millions but most likely not tens of millions of dollars.
-- by Adam Brown and Kelly Close