Novo Nordisk says it will establish a type 1 diabetes research and development center in Seattle to accelerate the development of new treatments for the disease, which has suffered from a lack of major scientific progress in recent years.

Scientist Matthias von Herrath, a world leader in basic research on type 1 diabetes at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, will head the new center while maintaining part-time leadership of his research program at the Institute.

“My dream has always been to see some of the treatments that my and other research teams have tested in animal models translated into better treatments for type 1 diabetes,” says von Herrath. “As head of the research center, I hope to pursue this dream, while also forging new public-private collaborations within this field.”

The center’s translational research approach will combine basic research and early proof-of-concept trials under one umbrella to provide it the necessary foundation to allow it to advance early-stage discovery projects quickly from animal models into small clinical exploratory trials in type 1 diabetes.

Tighter ties between private sector companies, non-profit biomedical research institutes, and academic institutions have become increasingly common as commercial drugmakers have sought to leverage early-stage research advances to cut the cost and accelerate the development of new therapeutics.

In people with type 1 diabetes, the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to properly control blood glucose levels. The chronic illness is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. They must monitor their blood sugar using a glucose meter throughout the day to calculate how much insulin to use to lower their blood glucose levels. The rising incidence of diabetes and the market opportunity to address it have drawn a growing interest in the development of new therapies.

Novo is currently seeking approval for its ultra-long-acting insulin, Degludec, in Japan. It hopes that eventually the drug will overtake Sanofi’s Lantus, currently the world’s top-selling long-lasting insulin.