The Letter of Intent rejection by the JDRF is recent. It was submitted in January 2008. As stated previously, it was submitted to ask permission to submit a large grant request to help fund phase II. The rejections by JDRF during 2002-2004 to help fund the preclinical work and phase I trial eventually came out that they needed the mice research to be replicated.

While JDRF and other independent labs spent the time and money to replicate Dr. Faustman's regeneration research in mice, MGH's internal review board and the Iacocca Foundation's scientific board deemed the research sound and launched the public campaign to raise the funds.

While JDRF spent time and money replicating in mice, the Faustman lab progressed the research by collecting 100's of blood samples from humans with diabetes demonstrating the selectively killing off of the targeted autoreactive T cells with TNF in test tubes as the first step for the possible treatment to eliminate the autoimmune disease, developed the first human blood assay for autoimmunity based on type I diabetes, and automated the assay for the human clinical trial. JDRF is well aware of this information. (However, I believe that the individual JDRF chapters around the country are not.)
It is very clear that not having the JDRF's stamp of approval on this project, has been extremely detrimental. The organization is powerful, wealthy, and controls the research landscape for type I diabetes.

From: Ellen <ecrain1@...>
Subject: [nathanfaustmantrials] Phase II Trials Rejected by JDRF
To: nathanfaustmantrials@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, May 25, 2008, 7:42 PM

Why does JDRF keep rejecting Dr. Faustman? Was the Letter of Intent a
recent letter or was it submitted with the request for Phase I trials?
Does JDRF know something that we don't know about this research? I'm
just curious. You would think that after all of the negative publicity
JDRF was given prior to start of Phase I that they would reconsider and
provide some funding for Phase II.