Open for business!
Nine months after the INNODIA kick-off meeting participants gathered for the first Annual Meeting from Oct. 10.-12., 2016 in Leuven, Belgium. The 116 scientists intensively discussed the recent progress and plans for the upcoming months. In previous months workpackage leads have been working hard within their workpackages and in liaison with the other workpackages to move the project along and INNODIA Coordinator Dr. Chantal Mathieu pointed out that all major deliverables and milestones planned for the first year have been met. A crucial deliverable was the set-up and start-up of a clinical INNODIA network (Dr. D. Dunger and teams) where newly diagnosed patients with type 1 diabetes and first degree relatives of people with type 1 diabetes will be invited to provide samples allowing to investigate the relationship between changes in β-cell function, immune profiles, genetic and environmental factors. Protocols for follow up, information brochures, informed consents and materials necessary for this collection and creation of a living biobank were produced in harmony between researchers from academia and industry, the INNODIA ethics advisory board (lead by Dr. P. Bingley) and most importantly the patient advisory committee. The participation of patients is key to the success of INNODIA and the coordinator of the patient advisory committee O. Arnaud was happy to introduce 4 of the members of this committee to the participants of the meeting. Ethics approval for the collection procedures has been granted in already one country and first samplings are planned in the coming days.
The INNODIA community was extremely excited to see that all pillars necessary to move the project to the next level were present: harmonization of immune assays (Dr. M. Peakman and Dr. T. Tree and teams) and elaboration of the integrated database and eCRF (Dr. S. Brunak and team). Also the basis for the establishment of the clinical trial network in INNODIA was built (Dr. T. Danne and team) and accreditation visits of clinical trial centers are planned in coming days. The preclinical work has also already yielded encouraging results that open the way to novel biomarkers and novel interventions in type 1 diabetes.
In coming weeks this website will be buzzing with novelties, primarily aimed at informing patients and families on the importance of participating in INNODIA, as well as general information on progress of the work.
Keep an eye open for INNODIA news!