Banting's Birthday Edition
Relentless RoundUp
24th Edition
November 14th is Sir Frederick Grant Banting’s birthday. A Canadian pharmacologist, orthopedist, field surgeon, trained midwife, Canada’s first professor of medical research and Nobel Prize winner. A bullied child in school who also had deep struggles with spelling which led to a litany of failed language courses.
Most Canadian children have learned about Banting’s scientific discovery in school, Insulin, that essential pancreatic hormone that regulates glucose in our bodies. I wish they also learned about his resilience.
November 14th was selected as World Diabetes Day because it is Banting’s birthday. In 2007 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that designated today as World Diabetes Day underscoring the urgent need to pursue ‘multilateral efforts to promote and improve human health and provide access to treatment and health-care education.’ The resolution encouraged Member States to develop national policies for the prevention, treatment, and care of diabetes.
This resolution came 86 years after the original discovery of insulin in a lab at the University of Toronto, co-discovered by Banting and his student Charles Best, under the supervision of John Macleod.
This RoundUp is dedicated to amplifying the persistent need for prevention of Type 2 diabetes, management of life with both Type 1 & 2, and of course the outstanding need for a T1D cure.
Themes of World Diabetes Day (‘WDD’)
Did you know that there is always a theme chosen for World Diabetes Day?
The theme for WDD 2024-26 is Diabetes and Well-being. Over the next three years, the World Diabetes Day campaign will focus on:
1. Physical well-being
2. Societal well-being
3. Mental well-being
The theme of the previous WDD from 2021-2023 was access to Diabetes care which clearly resonates with our investment thesis and values. We are very pleased that attention is now being brought to the importance of your physical well-being when tackling risk factors and when living with the condition. We discuss this ALL OF THE TIME. It is right up there with our goal to invest in innovation that impacts behaviour change for those struggling with the physical parts of diabetes management (e.g., the smart insoles developed by Orpyx Medical).
The best way to treat, and potentially reverse, Type 2 prediabetes is through healthy lifestyle changes. Easier said than done. We get it. But we will never stop highlighting the importance of a lifelong commitment to prevention, and acknowledging known risk factors (e.g., age, weight, family history, ethnicity and for women – a history of polycystic ovary syndrome/PCOS). It’s why we seek investment opportunities that find new ways to help people address the risks and encourage healthy longevity.
Diabetes. When you read this word, who do you think about in your life?
Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease, is characterized by a lack of insulin production. I think about the young grandson of two of our LPs who is an avid athlete navigating life with T1D. I think about his resilience.
Type 2 diabetes (formerly called adult-onset diabetes, i.e., most often developed as we age) is caused by the body’s ineffective use of insulin. It is a common consequence of excess body weight combined with physical inactivity. Genetics can also be a risk factor. I think of my grandpa, my baby brother, and my friend. At least two of them developed the condition courtesy of a long life of modest physical activity and consistent pace of unhealthy weight gain as they aged.
The Relentless Body
I hope you tracked The Relentless Body series on LinkedIn.
The series highlighted why we are investing in our aging bodies. It is simple. Our bodies are a complicated compilation of connections.
By 2030, chronic diseases are expected to account for 70% of total global deaths and 56% of the global burden of disease. The risk of onset of age-related diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, increases with age. Twenty years from now, the International Diabetes Foundation projects one in eight adults will be living with diabetes.
With this year’s WDD theme launching with physical wellbeing, who in your life could use some support with tackling their diabetes by embracing a more active lifestyle? Regular physical activity improves your body’s sensitivity to insulin and helps manage your blood sugar levels. These are biological facts.
There you have it. One more reason to find a power walking pal, mountain climbing crew, cycling studio devotee buddy, or a friend like Dierdre who will pick you up at 5:47am to make sure you get to the gym by 6am opening hour on those brutally cold, dark, and dreary days, like I have. Bonus to her pick-ups is the radiant energy she brings to launch a new day. She is a literal pick me up.
Happy birthday Sir Fredrick Banting.