Diabetes Week 2026: Why the research has to keep going

This week is Diabetes Week 2026 (8th-14th June), and the theme from Diabetes UK is Strike Out Stigma.

8 out of 10 people living with diabetes say they've faced negative attitudes because of their condition - judgement, sweeping statements, blame and shame. That's the reality for millions of people managing a serious health condition every single day. Diabetes UK is clear: nobody chooses diabetes, and it is nobody's fault*.

We support that message wholeheartedly. But we also want to talk about something that sits alongside the stigma conversation - and that's the ongoing, urgent need for diabetes clinical research.

The numbers are hard to ignore

589 million adults worldwide are currently living with diabetes - that's 11.1% of the global adult population. In 2024, diabetes caused 3.4 million deaths. One every nine seconds. And 252 million of those living with the condition don't even know they have it. †

For type 1 diabetes specifically, an estimated 9.5 million people are living with it globally in 2025. The estimated remaining life expectancy of a 10-year-old diagnosed with T1D ranges from 6 to 66 years, depending entirely on where in the world they live and whether they can access care. That gap - 6 years versus 66 — is one of the starkest inequalities in modern medicine. ‡

These aren't niche numbers. Diabetes is one of the defining health challenges of our time, and clinical research is how we close that gap.

Why stigma and research are connected

Here's something worth sitting with: when stigma discourages people from being open about their diabetes, it makes it harder to recruit for clinical trials. It makes patients less likely to engage with healthcare teams. It slows everything down.

Diabetes UK's Strike Out Stigma campaign isn't just about making people feel better - though that matters enormously. It's about creating the conditions where people living with diabetes can get the care, the support, and yes, the access to research that they deserve.

Better treatments only happen when people can participate in the trials that test them. That requires openness, trust, and a world where nobody feels ashamed of their diagnosis.

A perspective from inside Woodley Trial Solutions

We're particularly proud to be marking Diabetes Week this year because of the perspective our own team brings to it.

Arielle Raasch is a Project Manager here at Woodley Trial Solutions. She is also type 1 diabetic, and has previously been a patient in a diabetes clinical study herself. That combination - lived experience as a patient and professional expertise in clinical trial delivery - gives her a perspective that very few people in this industry have. We're delighted to have Arielle share more of her story in our Diabetes Week 2026 video.

What we do — and why it matters to us

At Woodley Trial Solutions, we've been supplying clinical trial equipment for over 35 years. Diabetes research has long been a core part of that work. We supply FDA-approved CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring), BGM (Blood Glucose Monitoring), and BKM (Blood Ketone Monitoring) devices — from manufacturers including Dexcom and Abbott - direct to clinical research sites, decentralized study locations, and clinical research nurses worldwide.

We also provide Site-Ready Patient Kits: fully customised, protocol-compliant kitting solutions assembled and delivered globally, designed to reduce site burden and make participation in trials as straightforward as possible for patients.

For diabetes studies specifically, getting the monitoring technology right is everything. Data integrity, device reliability, on-time delivery to every SIV date - these are the things that protect a study. We take that seriously, and we'll continue to do so.

The research has to keep going

Type 1 diabetes has no cure. Type 2 diabetes is still growing at a rate that should concern all of us. By 2050, projections suggest 1 in 8 adults globally will be living with diabetes - approximately 853 million people, a 46% increase on today. § 

The treatments that exist — CGM technology, insulin therapies, closed-loop systems - have transformed lives. But they've come from research. They've come from trials. They've come from patients willing to participate, researchers committed to the work, and supply chains that can actually deliver.

We're proud to be part of that supply chain. And during Diabetes Week 2026, we want to reaffirm our commitment to supporting diabetes research - now and in the future - for the benefit of everyone living with this condition.

To find out more about Diabetes UK's Strike Out Stigma campaign, visit diabetes.org.uk.

References
* Diabetes UK - https://www.diabetes.org.uk/support-us/diabetes-week 
† National Center for Biotechnology Medicine - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK618744/ 
‡ ScienceDirect - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168822725002918 
§ International Federation of Diabetes - https://idf.org/about-diabetes/diabetes-facts-figures/