U.S. Senator Susan Collins Applauds FDA Approval of First Artificial Pancreas Device

First-of-its-kind technology will revolutionize care for people with Type 1 diabetes 

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the founder and cochairman of the Senate Diabetes Caucus, released the following statement after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it has approved an artificial pancreas system to improve the management of Type 1 diabetes also known as Juvenile Diabetes:

“As the founder and co-chair of the Diabetes Caucus, I am so excited by this breakthrough, which will allow people age 14 and older who are living with Type 1 diabetes to better control their glucose levels, thus helping them to more easily and precisely manage their disease and avoid the serious consequences of their diabetes. It is potentially the most significant advance in diabetes care since the discovery of insulin. Ten years ago yesterday, I chaired a hearing on how an artificial pancreas could revolutionize care for people with diabetes, and today, that vision has become a reality.

"I have worked over the years to triple funding to support researchers developing this critically important technology. Today’s approval of the first artificial pancreas system will help people living with Type 1 diabetes achieve dramatically better control over their blood glucose levels. This innovation will be life-changing for people living with Type 1 diabetes and their families. I commend FDA for its efforts to advance this technology, and I am pleased to see that clinical trials are underway to assess if children age 7 through 13 can also safely use this new technology.”

“We are grateful to Senator Collins for her support in making this milestone achievement possible,” said Aaron Kowalski, Ph.D., JDRF Chief Mission Officer. “Senator Susan Collins played a key role in Congress to ensure funding for the Special Diabetes Program (SDP) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and also played a leading role in ensuring FDA made artificial pancreas (AP) technologies a priority.”