Thank you for that excellent question, which I think is really fundamental to what we do. We certainly recognize that millions of dollars are invested in diabetes research. Science and discovery, by their nature, are sometimes frustratingly slow processes.
I'm not sure if I was cut off when I was making my opening statement, but I think one example in type 2 diabetes of these potentially game-changing drugs derived from gut hormones is from a discovery in Canada from many years ago in the 1960s and 1970s. Fifty years ago it was discovered that these gut hormones can stimulate insulin secretion, and it's only been in the last decade that these drugs have come into clinical use. From discovery to cure or to improved therapy is a long process. We're in it for the long haul. We still really need research to address the gaps in knowledge with regard to the basic mechanism of disease in both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
I recognize that this is somewhat unsatisfying for people living with disease now—although it does provide hope—and for funders. At the same time as support goes on for that basic research into understanding disease mechanisms that have the potential to develop into therapies, there is also research that goes on and needs to be supported, research that has the potential to improve the lives of people right away. You heard from the other speakers about diabetes technologies, for example. There are better insulins now. There are insulin pumps. There is continuous glucose monitoring. There is movement towards the artificial pancreas, a closed-loop system in which insulin is released in response to algorithms that detect changes in blood glucose. These are incredibly transformative things that are happening now that are impacting the lives of people with diabetes. Also, there are new preventative-type strategic implementations, such as exercise and diet programs. These are things that are impacting the lives of people with diabetes now. They're not curing the disease, but they are reducing the burden of disease and are impactful. So, I think the—