Eli Lilly has announced plans to open a research center focused on diabetes in China, where the incidence of the disease has reached epidemic proportions. The center, to open in Shanghai in the second half of 2011, will focus on discovering new medicines to treat diabetes, and reflects both Lilly's longstanding leadership in this disease area and the priority Lilly places on improving the health of the Chinese people. "We are establishing this research center, first and foremost, to meet the growing unmet medical needs of those living in China with diabetes," said Dr Jan Lundberg, executive vice president, science and technology, and president, Lilly Research Laboratories. "This center will complement our existing network of collaborations in China and also will enable us to further gain the insights of China's talented scientists inside and outside of Lilly as we further explore a disease state in need of new and innovative therapies." According to a recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine, an estimated 92 million people in China – almost 10 percent of the adult population – have diabetes(1), a number that is expected to increase in the coming decade due in large part to longer life expectancy, dietary changes and lack of exercise. Left untreated or undertreated, diabetes can lead to debilitating or potentially fatal complications, including heart disease, stroke, nerve damage, lower limb amputation, vision loss and kidney disease. "Our strategy in China, and throughout the world, is to bring innovation to patients," said Jacques Tapiero, senior vice president and president of Lilly's emerging markets business area. "By establishing a diabetes research center in China, Lilly will be better able to discover medicines that are well suited to the particular needs of patients with diabetes in China." In another timely example of Lilly's commitment to diabetes research, the company said today that it is working with the China Diabetes Society (CDS) and the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD) to support collaborative diabetes programs between Chinese and European academic centers. Lilly has committed a total of 1.8 million Euros over three years (approximately $2.5 million or $16.6 million renminbi) to this effort. Dr Bei Betty Zhang, a native of Shanghai and an internationally-recognized diabetes expert who also serves as vice president of research for Lilly Research Laboratories in China will be heading the center. Dr Zhang is a graduate of Fudan University in Shanghai and completed her doctorate at the Indiana University School of Medicine and postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine, USA. The center will initially employ approximately 100 scientists and support staff, the majority of whom will be hired from within China. The center will focus on seeking to discover compounds with novel mechanisms of action leading to breakthrough therapies for diabetes. Its work will be complementary to Lilly's global diabetes R&D efforts. Scientists at the research center hope to discover medicines that better control blood glucose levels without hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), along with diabetes therapies that address co-morbid conditions such as cardiovascular disease and obesity. "What we are saying in announcing the establishment of this center is that we are committed to innovation, we are committed to diabetes, and we are committed to improving outcomes for individual patients with diabetes," said David Moller, M.D., vice president of endocrine and cardiovascular research and clinical investigation at Lilly. "Given key differences in the molecular basis of diabetes in Chinese and other Asian populations, a major focus at this center will be on discovering therapies that target critical aspects of the disease."