A BUSINESSMAN who has supported charities across north Shropshire has pledged £50 million to transform the lives of people living with type 1 diabetes and lead the global race to a cure.

The Steve Morgan Foundation's £50m donation to Diabetes UK and JDRF UK is the largest-ever single gift in the UK for diabetes research and the announcement coincides with the  centenary anniversary of the first use of insulin to treat type 1 diabetes.

Over five years, the £50m will fund the SMF Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge which will cultivate collaboration between world-leading researchers, scientific organisations, and diabetes charities to drive innovation and accelerate research breakthroughs worldwide.

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This unprecedented investment will see the UK’s two leading diabetes charities join forces to drive forward type 1 diabetes research and pave the way for the development of new treatments and a cure.

The Steve Morgan Foundation founder Steve Morgan, and his wife and SMF trustee Sally, are driven by their personal connection with the condition as their son Hugo was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of seven.

Whitchurch Herald: Steve Morgan's son, Hugo. Steve Morgan's son, Hugo.

Mr Morgan, who founded Ewloe-based Redrow Homes, said the "dream" was to find a cure for type 1 diabetes but pledged that the research would improve the lives of people living with the condition.

“It would be in our wildest dreams to get a cure at the end of these five years,” he told BBC Breakfast. “It’s probably unlikely but what it will do is advance technology and bring the day forward when we get a cure.”

His wife Sally said the research would give people living with type 1 diabetes and their families new hope.

“The hope to have some type of cure and make life better is something that we’re all so appreciative of,” she said.

READ MORE: Steve Morgan Foundation gives Wrexham woman a new lease of life

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

As a result, the pancreas can no longer make insulin and blood sugar levels become dangerously high. People with type 1 diabetes need to monitor their blood sugar levels and calculate the exact amount of insulin to take, several times a day.

The SMF Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge will focus on three key research areas:

  • Treatments to stop the immune system’s destruction of insulin-producing beta cells: Striking at the root cause of the condition – the immune system attack – to prevent new cases of type 1 diabetes altogether and protect beta cells in those already diagnosed.
  • Treatments to replace or rescue insulin-producing beta cells: Replacing the insulin-producing beta cells that have been destroyed by the immune system to restore the function of the pancreas.
  • Novel insulins, for example those that respond to changing blood sugar levels: These insulins could eliminate dangerous blood sugar highs and lows, reducing the risk of devastating complications and removing the extreme psychological burden of managing type 1 diabetes.

Through this pioneering partnership with Diabetes UK and JDRF UK, Steve and Sally Morgan are committed to creating a step-change in type 1 diabetes research, improving the lives of up to 400,000 people in the UK, their families and carers, and the lives of those around the world living with or caring for someone with type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.