Obesity is a chronic disease, not something people choose to live with. It is a global pandemic currently affecting around 150 million people in Europe and 650 million people worldwide.
“Obesity affects so many people in Sweden and elsewhere around the world, including many children. The condition can cause great distress for people who are affected and often leads to other diseases including type 2-diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Our work in SOPHIA is intended to improve our understanding of the biological and environmental factors that cause obesity and its consequences”, says professor Paul Franks, academic co-lead of the SOPHIA project and deputy-director of Lund University Diabetes Centre in Sweden
The research project named SOPHIA (Stratification of Obese Phenotypes to Optimize Future Obesity Therapy) is a €16 million Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) project that will last five years. The project is led by Novo Nordisk. Patient representatives, academia and industry throughout 12 countries have joined forces to better understand obesity and optimise future treatment.
Nearly half of adults with T1D and the majority of people with type 2 diabetes have overweight or obesity. Thus, the project will also investigate health outcomes in people with obesity who have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
The project starts in June 2020 and will last until May 2025.
About IMI
The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is a partnership between the European Union (represented by the European Commission) and the European pharmaceutical industry (represented by EFPIA, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations). The aim is to improve health by speeding up the development of, and patient access to, innovative medicines, particularly in areas where there is an unmet medical or social need.
For further information: www.imi.europa.eu
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