A new study commissioned by the Breakthrough T1D T1D Fund spotlights the high economic burden of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and the tremendous value of accelerating disease-modifying therapies.
The study, released today, estimates the annual cost of T1D is more than $30 billion in the United States, where 1.6 million people are living with the disease. Globally, the cost is estimated to be more than $90 billion a year, with about 18 million people affected by T1D.
The Breakthrough T1D T1D Fund developed the report in collaboration with Health Advances, a healthcare strategy consulting firm based in Newton, Massachusetts and several leading global T1D experts.
Report authors highlighted the many “hidden costs” of T1D, including both medical expenses and lost productivity. Historically, cost estimates have focused on only medical expenses. Authors note that estimates would be even higher if they were to include the potential psychosocial burdens of living with the chronic disease.
According to the study, costs for a T1D caregiver totals about $6,000 a year, while costs for an adult with T1D is about $20,000 annually.
The costs–shared by governments, payers, employers and people with T1D and their families–could be vastly offset by additional investment in driving disease-modifying therapies to market and into the hands of the T1D community.
The report cites that:
- A next-generation artificial pancreas system for better metabolic control could represent more than $9 billion in value.
- Treatments to delay the onset of T1D by five years could have a $3 billion economic impact.
- Disease modifying therapies close to the clinic could bring $3 billion in value.
To learn more about the study:
Access the full report:
About the Breakthrough T1D T1D Fund
The T1D Fund, a wholly owned subsidiary of Breakthrough T1D, was developed in 2016 as a venture philanthropy fund to accelerate life-changing T1D solutions through catalyzing an investment market in T1D.
The Fund works with Breakthrough T1D researchers to identify small companies focused on high-potential T1D therapies that are in need of funding, and that the Fund can support through investment. It also serves as a catalyst, drawing other investors such as venture capital firms and individual investors into the space, and thus bringing more funding to T1D innovations. Since its start, The Fund has attracted more than $100M in private capital to T1D work. It has invested $26 M in 15 companies, 11 focused on cures.
