The following Op Ed was co-authored by Breakthrough T1D’s President and CEO, Jessica Diniz and Cate Murray, President and CEO of the Stem Cell Network and was published in the Hill Times on October 30.
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From insulin to regenerative therapy, Canada’s contribution to diabetes research is unmatched. The question is whether we’ll continue to lead or watch others cross the finish line.
A century ago, a Canadian discovery changed the world. After Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolated insulin at the University of Toronto in 1921, a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes stopped being a death sentence. Before insulin, most patients survived barely two years; now, they could live full lives. Forty years later, two more Canadians, Ernest McCulloch and James Till proved the existence of stem cells, and regenerative medicine was born – treating not the symptoms of disease, but regrowing tissue to replace what was damaged by the disease.
These moments defined Canadian medical innovation – proof that what starts in our labs can transform millions of lives. Today, another such moment is near.
A Second Canadian Revolution in Diabetes Care
Some 300,000 Canadians live with type 1 diabetes, and almost 12,000 more are diagnosed each year – roughly 33 people a day. They live with constant vigilance: finger pricks, injections, pumps, glucose monitors, carb counts, alarms, and the ever-present fear of sudden blood-sugar crashes – let alone potentially serious complications like blindness, kidney failure, and amputation. Now, imagine a future where that vigilance can ease.
One Canadian biotech has developed a tissue patch that senses a patient’s glucose levels, then automatically releases insulin, ending daily injections. Another team is in clinical trials to infuse insulin-producing islet cells into a patient’s liver, eliminating dangerous “crashes” and the need for invasive pancreas transplants. Canadians are working to engineer therapy products to be implanted without immunosuppression and risk of transplant rejection. And early-stage therapies are reprogramming the body to naturally generate insulin-producing cells inside the body. Some now dare whisper the word cure.
These are not fantasies. They are Canadian realities. And when Canada leads in bioscience, everyone benefits. Patients get first access to cutting edge innovations. Researchers stay at home, investors support Canadian innovation, manufacturers choose Canada, the health system saves lives and costs. It’s a virtuous cycle.
When we fall behind, those benefits flow abroad – while Canadian patients wait in line and home grown biotechs wither.
Picture the elderly woman injecting insulin with shaking hands, the teenager newly diagnosed, the mother learning her toddler will depend on daily doses to stay alive and faces a future of health complications. Now picture them being told there’s hope of a cure – one born in Canadian labs and hospitals.
From Discovery to Revolutionary Therapy: Building the Bridge
But hope is not a strategy. To turn breakthroughs into treatments, Canada must build the conditions that let innovation thrive – from lab to bedside.
Policy readiness. Canada requires a specialized pathway for advanced therapeutics: a modern, streamlined and transparent regulatory regime that is supported by a government-backed concierge system. Picture a one-stop guide through regulation and assessment, incentives and infrastructure to support clinical trials, manufacturing, and commercialization readiness – so Canadian biotechs can attract clinical trials from around the world and help discoveries move faster from idea to impact.
System readiness. Clinicians, hospitals, and health systems must be prepared to integrate these therapies into care. A national education effort through professional colleges and health networks can ensure providers know what’s coming and how to deliver it safely. We also need regional Centres of Excellence in Diabetes and Regenerative Medicine – hubs uniting researchers, clinicians, patients, and biomanufacturing experts to accelerate clinical trials and access while anchoring expertise in Canada.
Investment readiness. Research is not a cost centre; it’s the engine of Canada’s future health and wealth. We need to fund research and build smarter investment, financing and procurement models: milestone-based reimbursement to de-risk private investment, and a “buy Canadian” procurement approach that creates a market for home-grown therapies.
Information readiness. Public trust in regenerative medicine cannot be taken for granted. Too many myths still cloud stem cell science, blurring the line between ethical debate and lifesaving innovation. This isn’t science to fear – it’s science that propels us a generation forward in saving lives.
Accountability and Leadership
Ultimately, political will will decide whether we succeed. Canada has the talent, the science, and the opportunity. We need to bring them together.
We’ve done this before. Canada has launched global vaccine collaborations, built genomics institutes, and created innovation superclusters. We can do the same for diabetes and regenerative medicine – areas where we already lead.
The federal government already identifies projects of national importance in energy and transportation and helps them cut through red tape. Why not do the same for health? With Canada’s high incidence, type 1 diabetes is a burden on Canadians but also a field of Canadian research strength. Let’s lean in.
The next century-defining medical discovery can again be Canadian – and again in diabetes. It’s our choice whether to put the pieces in place to make that possible.
Jessica Diniz is President and CEO of Breakthrough T1D Canada (formerly JDRF)
Cate Murray is the President and CEO of the Stem Cell Network
