An experimental drug delays Type 1 diabetes

It’s a watershed moment 33 years in the making: A single course of the experimental monoclonal antibody teplizumab has managed to delay the onset of Type 1 diabetes by about two years, scientists reported in NEJMand at the American Diabetes Association meeting over the weekend in San Francisco. This is, in essence, the first time a drug has been shown to stave off the autoimmune disease in humans.

The drug, under development by Provention Bio, was tested in 76 people — nearly three-quarters of whom were under 18. The participants had a high risk of developing Type 1 diabetes: Certain antibody markers in their blood indicated that their T cells were revving up to attack their pancreatic cells, which would ultimately cause the autoimmune disease. Teplizumab dissuades the T cells from spearheading an attack against a would-be diabetic’s pancreas. 

Many patients who develop Type 1 diabetes are quite young, which makes the constant blood sugar monitoring and insulin dosing onerous for both the child and the family. A drug that might delay the onset of this drug, even by a couple of years, could decrease the disease burden substantially, researchers say.