Fighting diabetes across borders

DiaUnion, the Medicon Valley Research Center for Diabetes, Autoimmunity, and Prevention, was created in 2020 with a long-term goal to establish the infrastructure for the early detection of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and two related autoimmune diseases. This huge challenge requires the development of efficient methods and procedures for detecting healthy people who are at risk for developing T1D, as well as creating health-economics data to support the case for establishing a public T1D screening program, describes Finn Kristensen, Project Director of DiaUnion.

“These challenges are equally large on both sides of the Øresund and it was therefore natural for the two internationally recognized research institutions, Lund University (LU) and Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen (SDCC), to collaborate in an ambitious joint-project to solve these challenges in the Medicon Valley region. This formalization has provided the basis for the exchange of methods, knowledge, and ideas between the researchers at LU and SDCC, as well as sharing resources,” he says.

Sharing resources

A couple of concrete examples of the sharing of resources in the DiaUnion project are the advanced robotic laboratory automation equipment at LU and the genotyping equipment at SDCC, which are now available to both parties and are now being used efficiently on a larger scale. Another example is the sharing of research data that has been accumulated over many years at both institutions.

It would have taken decades for the two institutions to collect similar data on an individual basis, but through the DiaUnion collaboration, both institutions now have access to data they would not otherwise have had access to.

“It would have taken decades for the two institutions to collect similar data on an individual basis, but through the DiaUnion collaboration, both institutions now have access to data they would not otherwise have had access to,” says Kristensen.

Taking advantage of different competencies

Most of the people working in the DiaUnion project have scientific backgrounds, but the competencies they have developed over the years are different, as are the related areas of expertise they have built up in each of the institutions. “Most noticeably, at SDCC comprehensive research has taken place over a long period in beta cell biology and T1D genetics, and the institution is internationally recognized for its efforts and results in this area,” says Kristensen.

“LU has been instrumental in developing assay technology for autoantibody biomarker screening for T1D, and has also developed expertise in creating laboratory automation for analyzing blood samples for these biomarkers,” he adds.

Scaling up the program

DiaUnion has scaled up the program since July 1 2024, and has a target to screen 45,000 people in Denmark and southern Sweden. The purpose of this screening is to reduce the bottleneck in the identification of individuals in the pre-stages of type 1 diabetes, to develop and deploy new therapies that delay the clinical onset of type 1 diabetes.

It is also very significant that for the first time we can prevent one of the many debilitating autoimmune diseases from which more and more people are suffering.

“This is a ground-breaking project, and not only because it will open up the possibility to delay disease development in thousands of children and young people. It is also very significant that for the first time we can prevent one of the many debilitating autoimmune diseases from which more and more people are suffering,” stated Carl-Johan Sonesson, Chairman of the regional board in Region Skåne, after the announcement.

The DiaUnion autoantibody screening 2.0 program is expected to identify a total 7,030 aab positive individuals over the course of three years in Sweden and Denmark. Of these, 2,196 will be type 1 diabetes aab positive, and 1,244 will have two or more T1D aabs (stage 1+2) within the three years of the program. In parallel, the program will identify people who are pre-symptomatic for two related autoimmune diseases, celiac disease and autoimmune thyroid disease. 

DiaUnion 2.0 is a public/private partnership between Region Skåne, Region Hovedstaden, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Lund University, Medicon Valley Alliance, and Sanofi.

Beyond DiaUnion

All strategic projects facilitated by Medicon Valley Alliance (MVA) are firmly anchored in the same ethos as DiaUnion – to create cross-border collaboration where the end result is greater than the sum of its parts. Apart from DiaUnion, MVA is currently the facilitating or leading partner in both the HALRIC consortium for utilizing highly specialized life science research infrastructure, and the ReproUnion consortium for research and innovation regarding infertility. 

“Furthermore, we are a participating partner in the Dent2Health project which bridges oral and systemic health, and the Nordic project Life Science Academy for Startups. Since 2015 we have also supported the student network Synapse, originally Danish but now Nordic, and helped it expand to Sweden. To us students represent the future, and we believe the future belongs to those who can “build bridges”,” states Kristensen.