Boehringer Ingelheim highlights World Diabetes Day initiatives

Boehringer Ingelheim has conducted a charity run initiative in order to raise money to coincide with World Diabetes Day earlier this week.

More than 700 of the pharmaceutical company's employees took part in a three km fundraising run on November 14th 2011, with every kilometre converted into a monetary contribution from Boehringer Ingelheim.

Through this initiative, around 15,000 euros (12,800 pounds) has been contributed to the International Diabetes Federation's Life for a Child programme, which aims to assist paediatric diabetes patients in developing nations.

The Run for Diabetes was the culmination of a week-long series of initiatives designed to raise awareness for World Diabetes Day, an event that has taken place each year since 1991.

Dr Birgit Dannhof, international team leader for diabetes at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "Boehringer Ingelheim has been partnering with the International Diabetes Federation for three years now and we share their long-term commitment to promoting diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide."

This comes after the firm launched a new diabetes therapy called Trajenta in the UK in September 2011, in association with partner Lilly.