If you live with type 1 diabetes (T1D), or love someone who does, you know how much daily effort it takes to stay healthy and how urgently better treatments and cures are needed.
That’s why we want to share an important update.
Breakthrough T1D Canada has formally asked the federal government to partner with us to launch the Breakthrough T1D Network for Canada (BTNC) – a national effort designed to speed up the path to real, lasting treatments for T1D.
This proposal didn’t come out of nowhere. It was shaped over many months with input from dozens of stakeholders – researchers, clinicians, industry experts, policymakers, and members of the T1D community – all focused on one shared goal: making sure people in Canada can benefit from breakthrough therapies for T1D as soon as possible.
Why this matters for people living with T1D
Right now, some of the most promising T1D therapies in history are moving from the lab into human trials, including therapies designed to restore the body’s ability to make insulin.
But here’s the challenge: without coordination at a national level, Canada risks seeing those trials, expertise, and future treatments happen elsewhere, meaning Canadians could wait longer to access them.
The BTNC is about changing that.
It is designed to:
• Link expertise, ideas and efforts from across the country to reduce duplication and accelerate T1D research and innovation
• Bring T1D clinical trials to Canada faster
• Support more trial sites across the country
• Help ensure successful therapies are developed, tested, and delivered here at home
For the T1D community, that means earlier access to trials, clearer pathways to new therapies, and a stronger chance that life‑changing treatments reach people in Canada sooner.
What exactly is the Breakthrough T1D Network for Canada?
The BTNC is not a new building or a single research project.
It is a coordinated national network that would connect researchers, clinicians, hospitals, industry partners, and people living with T1D under one clear plan, with shared priorities, timelines, and standards.
In practical terms, the BTNC would:
• Actively manage a national portfolio of T1D research initiatives and trials
• Help trial sites launch and run studies more efficiently
• Support shared training, protocols, and knowledge‑sharing
• Work with partners to move successful therapies toward real‑world use
How this fits with Project ACT
If you’re familiar with Project ACT, this may sound aligned — and that’s intentional.
Project ACT is Breakthrough T1D’s global strategy to accelerate cell therapies as cures for T1D, by addressing not just science, but clinical trials, regulation, access, and health‑system readiness. The BTNC is a key part of how we’re achieving that strategy here in Canada. It focuses on making sure Canada has the systems, coordination, and partnerships needed to turn global progress into real access for people living with T1D here: not years later, and not somewhere else first.
Built with community and partner input
This proposal reflects conversations with dozens of stakeholders, including people from across the T1D research and innovation ecosystem. Their input helped shape a plan that is practical, realistic, and focused on results. We are grateful to the Stem Cell Network for their partnership and to the following organizations for their generous support of this stakeholder engagement work:
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals
• Sana Biotechnology
• Novo Nordisk Canada
• Allarta Life Science
Thanks to all those who participated in stakeholder consultations. Your willingness to share perspectives, ask hard questions, and keep the focus on people living with T1D helped strengthen this proposal and ensure it reflects real community priorities.
What happens next
The federal government is now considering our proposal.
If approved, this partnership would represent a significant step toward:
• Faster progress toward cures
• Stronger clinical trial opportunities in Canada
• A future where people living with T1D spend less time managing the disease and more time living their lives
• Global leadership for Canada in T1D research and trials
We’ll continue to keep you informed, and we’ll continue to advocate – alongside you – for a future without T1D.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
