New anthem from girl band raises awareness of Type 1 Diabetes after research highlights significant impact and features Stagecoach student Finley, 14, from Surrey.

The original song is called “Rise Up” to empower young people living with T1D and help them feel less alone. They’re asking the UK and indeed the world, to get behind them and get them to Number One in the charts!

The band was brought together by Sanofi through a UK-wide audition process for kids taking part in Stagecoach Performing Arts, with local Finely successfully winning her role in the band alongside 3 other performers. Also featured is Duke Al Durham, a UK spoken word poet and hip-hop artist also living with T1D. Together with Duke, the band have contributed their own lived experiences to the song's lyrics creating a meaningful anthem for those living with T1D. The song has been released on Spotify under the name 1Type and Sanofi will donate an amount matching the profits from song to charities that support people living with T1D.

Finely

1Type Band Member & Stagecoach student

“Creating this song was a powerful experience. Sharing our stories through music has been more than we could have hoped for. We hope this song starts a conversation about type 1 diabetes and fosters a sense of community for others living with it."

Lisa Stead

Chief Operating Officer, Stagecoach Performing Arts

“We are incredibly proud to partner with Sanofi on this unique project. We believe in the transformative power of the arts. This project beautifully demonstrates how music can be a powerful tool for raising awareness and building empathy. It's been a fantastic opportunity for these talented young musicians to connect deeply over their shared experiences with T1D and create something they will cherish forever.”

T1D is an autoimmune, complex, and lifelong condition – and it can happen at any age even without family history. [i] It can be a challenging disease with lifelong clinical, economic, and emotional unmet needs for patients and families. In the UK, there is a growing prevalence where approximately 400,000 people are living with the disease, including about 32,000 people 19 years of age and younger. [ii], [iii] It is known that T1D is not caused by diet or lifestyle and the causes of T1D are currently not fully understood. Researchers are exploring the genes and environmental triggers to understand if they play a part in causing the body’s immune system to malfunction and start attacking the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. In the UK, T1D is managed through insulin therapy and glucose monitoring. [iv]

Research has expanded our understanding of the underlying autoimmune mechanisms of T1D and has now enabled earlier detection of the disease before symptoms appear. [v]

Ahmed Moussa

General Manager, General Medicines UK and Ireland, Sanofi

“Supporting the T1D community is a huge priority for us at Sanofi and this project has been very close to our hearts. These incredible kids are true rockstars, both on stage and, more importantly, in how they manage type 1 diabetes every single day. We are proud to stand alongside them, amplifying their voices.”