Minnesota Partnership leaders launching the Decade of Discovery, October 5th. L-R, Dr. Frank Cerra, U of Mn; Oversight Committee Co-Chairs Vance Opperman and Dr. Peter Agre; Oversight member, Justice Kathleen Blatz; Dr. Robert Rizza, Mayo Clinic.

On October 5, 2010, the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics announced a new initiative aimed at finding optimal treatments and ultimately curing diabetes within the next 10 years. The initiative, called "Decade of Discovery," will build on Mayo Clinic's and the University of Minnesota's strengths in diabetes research and treatment.

The diabetes initiative could help to improve the health and quality-of-life of more than 269,000 Minnesotans and 24 million Americans struggling with the medical, financial and emotional effects of diabetes.

The Minnesota Partnership is a collaboration that includes Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota and the State of Minnesota. To achieve the goals of treating and eliminating diabetes, the Minnesota Partnership will seek $250 to $350 million over 10 years from state, federal and private funding entities.

The initiative will work to end diabetes through research, and broad penetration of best practices in treatment, intervention and prevention. In doing so, it will help position Minnesota as a global leader in pioneering medical discovery and treatment, reduce health care costs and generate economic opportunities that will benefit the entire state.

"Currently, one of every three Medicare dollars is spent on diabetes-related treatment in our country, with at least $2 billion spent here in Minnesota," says Robert Rizza, M.D., executive dean of research, Mayo Clinic. "When we look at the quality-of-life impact of diabetes, combined with an annual price tag of $170 billion each year nationally, elevating and expediting Minnesota's ability to tackle this disease is not only the right thing to do, it is a health and economic imperative."

The Decade of Discovery initiative will be guided by an Oversight Committee composed of respected global, national and local leaders from medical research, business/biobusiness, civic leadership, philanthropic interests, disease advocacy groups and other impacted communities. The Oversight Committee will be co-chaired by Peter Agre, M.D., a Nobel laureate, and Vance Opperman, president and CEO of Key Investments, Inc.

Scientists and diabetes experts from Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota will lead the research teams.

To learn more about the Decade of Discovery initiative, visit the Minnesota Partnership website.