This week the US Senate passed a bill funding the single largest investment ever towards finding a cure for juvenile diabetes, allocating $750 million in funding over the next five years for research on the most severe form of a disease that annually accounts for almost $100 billion in health care costs in the U.S. According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF), the world's leading nonprofit, nongovernmental funder of diabetes research, the bill could represent a turning point in finding a cure.

"As a result of the leadership of the Senate, House of Representatives, and the Administration, this bill ensures that critical funding for juvenile diabetes research will build upon the remarkable progress achieved through the funding of this program since it was created in 1997," said Mary Tyler Moore, International Chairman of JDRF. "In our view, this could be a turning point in finding a cure for type 1 diabetes."

The legislation is an amendment to the Special Diabetes Program that was originally created by Congress and the Administration in 1997. The bill, which was passed in the House of Representatives on November 15, was approved by unanimous consent late last night. It provides $750 million over five years for type 1 diabetes research at the Department of Health and Human Services, and $750 million over five years for the treatment and prevention of diabetes for Native Americans. The bill is on its way to the President for his signature.

Ms. Moore noted that the passage of HR 5738 by the House of Representatives last week and by the Senate last night is the result of a year-long advocacy campaign by JDRF to increase funding for research leading to a cure for type 1 diabetes; the bill was among the foundation's key legislative priorities during this session of Congress. She pointed out that its passage underscores the unique "partnership" effort JDRF has spearheaded in its roles as both the leading advocate and as the leading nongovernmental funder of diabetes research in the U.S. Ms. Moore said that the combination of JDRF funding -- approximately $100 million last year -- and federal funding will effectively accelerate the pace and scope of research leading to a cure of type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes can occur at any age, but is most commonly diagnosed before age 30; today, it afflicts more than 1 million Americans. The disease requires multiple insulin injections daily just to survive, is difficult to manage, carries the constant threat of devastating complications including blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, and amputation, and usually results in a drastic reduction in quality of life and shortening of the average life span. According to the National Institutes of Health, the financial impact of treating diabetes, in all its forms, accounts for

$98 billion in health care costs in the U.S. on an annual basis -- and individuals with diabetes represent approximately 25 percent of all Medicare expenditures.

"The passing of this bill by unanimous consent in both the House and Senate underscores that legislators clearly understand both the personal toll a devastating disease such as type 1 diabetes has on children, young adults, and others, as well as the enormous costs this disease has for the U.S. every year from a national health care perspective," Ms. Moore said.

Ms. Moore pointed out that with breakthroughs in research focusing on reversing diabetes and its complications and preventing the disease, this legislation comes at a critical juncture. She noted, for example, the recent success of research surrounding the transplantation of pancreatic islet cells into patients with type 1 diabetes; currently, more than 100 transplant recipients are insulin independent worldwide.

JDRF, the world's leading nonprofit, nongovernmental funder of diabetes research, was founded in 1970 by the parents of children with juvenile diabetes -- a disease which strikes children suddenly, makes them insulin dependent for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications. Since inception, JDRF has provided more than $600 million to diabetes research worldwide. The organization's mission is constant: to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research.