Conversations and healthy debate about issues facing our industry and the health care system are critical to addressing some of today’s challenges and opportunities. The Catalyst welcomes guest contributors, including patients, stakeholders, innovators and others, to share their perspectives and point of view. Views represented here may not be those of PhRMA, though they are no less key to a healthy dialogue on issues in health care today.

Today, there are more than 30 million Americans suffering from type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Because diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, the need for innovative treatments and therapies is greater than it ever has been. America’s biopharmaceutical companies are committed to developing new and innovative medicines for patients in need.

There is no doubt that diabetes is a complex disease to diagnose and treat.That’s something I’ve seen firsthand as an endocrinologist. Over the years, I treated a number of patients that had a variety of endocrine disorders, including type 1 and type 2 diabetes. For each patient, finding the right treatment and helping them manage the disease was a challenge.

30 million. 1.4 million. 11 million. 86 million. These numbers on their own may mean nothing, but in the context of diabetes, they paint an entirely different picture. More than 30 million Americans have diabetes, with 1.4 million new cases diagnosed each year in the United States. According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 11 million older adults have diabetes, while 86 million Americans have prediabetes. So what’s the bright side?