Posted 28 May 2024

Making precision medicine a reality for type 1 diabetes

Professor Helen Thomas has been awarded a $600,000 grant from JDRF for research aimed at moving away from the current ‘one size fits all’ approach to the treatment of type 1 diabetes.

With the funding, Helen will investigate the genetic markers that identify those who will most benefit from treatment with baricitinib. In a world first clinical trial, the SVI team recently showed that the drug, commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, can slow the progression of type 1 diabetes.

“Not everyone being treated with baricitinib in our trial showed the same response,” says Helen.

“We are going to make use of the valuable blood samples and clinical data from those who participated in the trial to now discover the genetic signposts that identify those who are most likely to benefit from the treatment.”

Helen says that using this data to determine who will best respond to treatment will enable clinicians to target specific treatments for their patients in the future.

“Type 1 diabetes is a complex disease. We want to personalise treatment in order to offer the right treatment, to the right person, at the right time,” says Helen.

“We are very grateful to JDRF Australia and JDRF International for the funding that has enabled our research over many years.”

The grant is part of more than $3 million of funding from JDRF for researchers aiming to make precision medicine a reality for people type 1 diabetes.