Eli Lilly and Company Foundation To Fund World-Class Diabetes Treatment and Care Program at Riley Hospital for Children
November 13 2006 - 1:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Riley
Children's Foundation today announced that it has received a $10
million gift from the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation that will
serve as a transformational catalyst needed to establish a
world-class pediatric diabetes treatment and care program at Riley
Hospital for Children. Dr. Ora Pescovitz, president and CEO of
Riley Hospital and a nationally renowned specialist in diabetology
and endocrinology, says Lilly's gift marks a turning point for
diabetes research and care. "We are working to create an
internationally renowned diabetes treatment care and research
program at Riley. With the generosity of the Eli Lilly and Company
Foundation, we are now closer to realizing our vision of making
momentous advances in how we diagnose, treat and even prevent
pediatric diabetes," Pescovitz said. "We are honored to partner
with Lilly and the IU School of Medicine in this endeavor." About
Lilly's gift Lilly's gift will be used to recruit internationally
recognized diabetes specialists who will establish a preeminent
program in pediatric diabetes research. This research will
complement Riley's program in clinical pediatric diabetes taking
place within the Indiana University School of Medicine. The gift
also will help to establish the Eli Lilly and Company Center for
Pediatric Diabetes at Riley Hospital for Children and the Indiana
University School of Medicine. The center encompasses the basic
scientific research programs at Riley and IU. In addition, a
facility within the clinical care program will provide education
and care to the families of children with type 1 diabetes. The
facility will accommodate nursing, nutrition, medical social work
staff and ancillary services to deliver state-of-the-art diabetes
care. Finally, Lilly's gift will help Riley create a national model
for pediatric diabetes care delivery. The current model for
providing support to both families and medical professionals is
inadequate. Riley's history in pediatric diabetes care Riley
Hospital is home to one of the largest and most highly regarded
pediatric diabetes clinical programs in the country, treating more
than 1,800 children with diabetes each year. The Pediatric
Endocrinology Section of the Department of Pediatrics at Indiana
University and Riley Hospital has achieved national respect and a
growing international reputation for excellence in its clinical
services and clinical research in the area of type 1 diabetes. Its
programs have expanded exponentially in the past decade and have
reached a critical state in the pursuit to establish a world-class
center for pediatric diabetes. Riley also is part of the Type 1
Diabetes Genetics Consortium, an international group coordinating
efforts to identify individuals' risk of developing diabetes.
Moreover, the Riley Pediatric Diabetes Program was among the first
in the United States to introduce the use of a pediatric insulin
pump, which freed parents of diabetic children from having to
administer insulin shots. "This gift will allow Riley to ascend to
an elite status in pediatric diabetes research and care," said
Kevin O'Keefe, president and CEO, Riley Children's Foundation.
"Indiana children and families have reason to celebrate this
milestone in our state's history. Research at Riley Hospital by IU
School of Medicine physicians will lead to advancements not only in
treatment, but in identifying children at risk for diabetes -- and
finding a cure." Lilly's history in diabetes care Lilly introduced
the world's first commercially available insulin product for
treating diabetes, then a fatal disease, in 1923. In the most
significant breakthrough in diabetes care since then, Lilly
introduced the world's first human insulin in 1982. Just last year,
Lilly with its partner, Amylin Corporation, introduced Byetta(R),
the first in a new class of medicines known as incretin mimetics,
to treat type 2 diabetes. "There is no group of patients with whom
Lilly has a longer and deeper history than those suffering from
diabetes," said John Lechleiter, Lilly president and chief
operating officer. "Today's announcement reinforces our commitment
to juvenile diabetes and advances a mission that began more than 80
years ago. Our gift to Riley is another defining moment in our goal
to arrest the progression and impact of diabetes in patients across
society." Today's announcement comes on the eve of World Diabetes
Day, Nov. 14. First established in 1991, World Diabetes Day
commemorates the birthday of insulin pioneer Fredrick Banting and
serves as the primary global awareness campaign of the diabetes
community. November also is American Diabetes Awareness Month,
sponsored by the American Diabetes Association. DATASOURCE: Riley
Children's Foundation CONTACT: Riley Children's Foundation: Cindy
Dashnaw, +1-317-634-4474 ext. 206 (w), +1-317-432-2456 (c), or
Katie Mayes, +1-317-634-4474 ext. 118 (w), +1-317-679-5682 (c), ;
Eli Lilly and Company Foundation: Ed Sagebiel, +1-317-433-9899,
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