5 July 2010 Hundreds of families in Pine Rivers could benefit directly or in the future from the establishment of Diabetes Clinical Trial Network (CTN) in Australia.

 

The Coalition will provide $35 million dollars to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to pursue finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes through the Clinical Trial Network from next year.

 

The Federal Member for Dickson Peter Dutton made the commitment to the JDRF with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

 

It follows the visit to Canberra of young diabetics from around Australia for Kids in the House - the culmination of the Promise to Remember Me campaign to secure the funding.

 

Among those young ambassadors was Year Eight student from Albany Creek Erin Gold.

 

Mr Dutton said Type 1 diabetics like Erin will benefit from a Clinical Trial Network.

 

“There will be hundreds of families in the electorate of Dickson in which a family member suffers from Type 1 Diabetes,” Mr Dutton said.

 

“Establishment of a Diabetes CTN in Australia will enable people with diabetes to join international clinical trials for promising new treatments and technologies for diabetes.”

 

Mr Dutton said this could give them access to treatments five or ten years before they would otherwise become available in Australia.

 

“It could bring researchers just that much closer to a cure for this chronic and life-threatening disease,” Mr Dutton said.

 

There are an estimated 140,000 sufferers of Type 1 diabetes in Australia, 20,000 of those are children. Overall Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes affects more than 800,000 Australians.

 

An operative CTN would speed up access to the latest treatments and technologies, translate promising Australian research into clinical outcomes, improve health and reduce complications for those with Type 1 diabetes.

 

Mr Dutton said there could be flow on benefits to Australians who suffer other auto-immune diseases.

 

“Some people with Type 2 diabetes who experience the same life threatening complications as those with Type 1 diabetes will also benefit,” Mr Dutton added.

 

Further information on the announcement can be found at the JDRF’s website below.