Ascensia Launches Global Art Competition Exploring the Link Between Diabetes and Anxiety

BASEL, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 24, 2025--

Ascensia Diabetes Care, a global diabetes care company, maker of the CONTOUR® Blood Glucose Monitoring (BGM) System portfolio and exclusive distributor of Eversense® Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) Systems, has launched its fourth annual global art competition in support of World Diabetes Day 2025. This year, the competition is themed around Diabetes and Anxiety, shining a spotlight on the mental health impact of diabetes and capturing the unfiltered reality of living with the condition.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250723692437/en/

An estimated 3 in 4 people living with diabetes have experienced anxiety, depression or another mental health condition as a result of managing their diabetes i. With the number of people affected by diabetes expected to rise to over 850 million by 2050 ii, this year’s This is Diabetes. This is Anxiety. campaign aims to raise awareness and deepen understanding through creativity and storytelling.

Submissions are now open globally and free to enter at www.thisisdiabetes.com until October 24, 2025, with the winners announced on World Diabetes Day, a global initiative of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), held each year on November 14.

Koichiro Sato, CEO of Ascensia Diabetes Care and Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer of Ascensia’s parent company PHC Group, commented:

“World Diabetes Day is a key moment for us to support the global diabetes community. For 2025, we want to shed light on the emotional burden that often goes unseen. The theme of ‘This is Diabetes. This is Anxiety.’ is deeply important, and we hope this competition provides an outlet for expression, connection and better quality of life.”

“Each year we are inspired by the stories shared through art,” he continued. “We invite artists, supporters, and advocates to help us show the world what anxiety and diabetes truly look like. Every submission adds to a collective story that deserves to be seen and heard.”

In addition to showcasing the Top 20 submissions across Ascensia’s platforms, the 2025 competition will introduce a free downloadable coloring-in booklet featuring selected artwork. This new initiative is designed to spark creativity, reflection and learning for individuals and families alike.

Prizes include donations of €6,000, €3,000 and €1,000 made in the winners’ names to a diabetes charity of their choice. A diverse judging panel – including global artists, diabetes advocates, and Ascensia employees – will evaluate submissions based on creativity, emotional impact, connection to the theme, and storytelling.

Now in its fourth year, the competition builds on the momentum of previous This is Diabetes campaigns, which have drawn over 500 entries and delivered donations to diabetes charities on four continents.

Ascensia Diabetes Care is a PHC Holdings Corporation (TSE: 6523) company. Terms and conditions apply.

Notes for Editors

About Ascensia Diabetes Care

Ascensia Diabetes Care is a global company focused entirely on helping people with diabetes. Our mission is to empower those living with diabetes through innovative solutions that simplify and improve their lives.

We are home to the world-renowned CONTOUR ® portfolio of blood glucose monitoring systems and the exclusive global distribution partner for the Eversense® Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems from Senseonics. These products combine advanced technology with user-friendly functionality to help people with diabetes manage their condition and make a positive difference to their lives. As a trusted partner in the diabetes community, we collaborate closely with healthcare professionals and other partners to ensure our products meet the highest standards of accuracy, precision and reliability, and that we conduct our business compliantly and with integrity.

Ascensia is a member of PHC Group and was established in 2016 through the acquisition of Bayer Diabetes Care by PHC Holdings Corporation. Ascensia products are sold in more than 100 countries. Ascensia has around 1,400 employees and operations in 29 countries. For further information, please visit the Ascensia Diabetes Care website at: www.ascensia.com

About PHC Holdings Corporation

PHC Holdings Corporation (TSE 6523) is a global healthcare company with a mission of contributing to the health of society through healthcare solutions that have a positive impact and improve the lives of people. Its subsidiaries (referred to collectively as PHC Group) include PHC Corporation, Ascensia Diabetes Care Holdings AG, Epredia Holdings Ltd., LSI Medience Corporation, Mediford Corporation, and Wemex. Together, these companies develop, manufacture, sell and service precision technology across diabetes management, healthcare solutions, life sciences and diagnostics. PHC Group’s consolidated net sales in FY2024 were JPY 361.6 billion with global distribution of products and services in more than 125 countries. www.phchd.com

 

Ascensia Launches Global Art Competition Exploring the Link Between Diabetes and Anxiety

NEW YORK (AP) — Ryan Weathers was steamed when he found out he was joining the New York Yankees.

“I had had just finished up my bullpen and I get back to the house — I have like a little travel sauna,” he recalled Thursday. “I literally probably had sat on my couch for about two seconds and I got a phone call from Peter Bendix that I had been traded.”

Bendix, Miami's president of baseball operations, sent the 26-year-old left-hander to New York for four prospects on Tuesday: outfielders Brendan Jones and Dillon Lewis, and infielders Dylan Jasso and Juan Matheus.

Weathers is the son of David Weathers, a pitcher who helped the Yankees win the 1996 World Series after he was acquired from the Marlins at the trade deadline.

“We’ve kind of had a weird, similar paths as to how we got to New York,” Ryan Weathers said.

David was in the Dodger Stadium bullpen when he found out two minutes before the trade deadline he had been dealt to the Yankees. Manager Rene Lachemann called him on the bullpen phone and said Weathers needed to speak with general manager Dave Dombrowski.

“I went in the locker room and Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, John Burkett, Robb Nen, they said, `Hey man, good luck. You're going to win a World Series ring,' and they turned out to be prophetic,” David Weathers said.

David learned his son had been traded while watching a basketball game with wife Kelli at Loretto High School in Loretto, Tennessee, where he has coached baseball.

“One of my friends came up and said, `I think Ryan’s been traded to the Yankees.' And I said: `Well, if he has, I hadn’t heard anything about it,'" David recalled. "We laughed, and about that time my phone started ringing. It was Ryan.”

When Ryan makes his Yankees debut, they will become the fifth father-son duo for the pinstripes, joining Yogi and Dale Berra, Clay and Cody Bellinger, Mark Leiter and Mark Leiter Jr., and Ron Davis and Ike Davis.

Ryan was in shock when he spoke with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone.

“I just couldn’t believe that the New York Yankees were a team that I could ever have a chance to play for," he said.

New York’s rotation at the season's start projects to also include Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Luis Gil while Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón rehab from injuries.

Weathers, 26, was 2-2 with a 3.99 ERA in eight starts last year in his second straight injury-shortened season. He missed time with a strained left flexor, made his season debut on May 14, then didn’t pitch for Miami between June 7 and Sept. 11 because of a left lat strain.

He was 5-6 with a 3.63 ERA over 16 starts in 2024, when he was sidelined by a strained left index finger.

“This is the best I’ve probably felt in a year-and-a-half,” Weathers said. “I really did a dive and worked with company on figuring out how to lengthen my lat out, lengthen my back out. We really adjusted a lot of my lifting patterns. We really adjusted my mobility and my prep work, and I think my arm is reaping the benefits right now.”

Ryan grew up in big league clubhouses and remembered the Cincinnati Reds' room with Ken Griffey Jr. and Joey Votto. He played pickle with Dusty Baker, Ramón Hernández, Eric Milton and Juan Castro.

“There’s been a lot of hours put in the Cincinnati Reds' batting cages,” Weathers said. “I just remember Pops taking me to the field every day. I know when his arm was hurting, he’d still throw me BP.”

Ryan was the seventh overall pick by San Diego in the 2008 amateur draft and made his first big league appearance against the Dodgers in the 2020 NL Division Series — among only six players to make a major league debut in the postseason. His dad's knowledge helped him during tough times.

“When I first started going through it and getting adversity and getting traded, he really helped me along those lines of figuring out: This is what you do with your new team. This was what you do in your day-to-day,” Ryan said. “So I’ve been doing mechanics since I was age 10.”

He has remained close with pitcher Aaron Harang, a teammate of his father who last played in 2015.

“He still texts me all the time,” Weathers said. “When I was younger, I didn’t really care about pitching. I just wanted to hit bombs in the outfield, so I didn’t really think about it.”

For David, pitching in the World Series was less nerve-racking than being in the seats at Ryan's games.

“It’s way tougher being a dad and watching your son pitch than being a pitcher,” David said. “When he pitches, man, it is just like all day, it’s like I’m pitching. I’m thinking about what I would do, how I would attack these guys.”

Notes: New York finalized its $2 million, one-year contract with right-hander Paul Blackburn.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

FILE - Miami Marlins starting pitcher Ryan Weathers throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sept. 24, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson, File)