A first-of-its-kind therapy that can delay type 1 diabetes for up to three years will soon be available across the UK, after the approval by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for the drug teplizumab, reports The Independent.
Given as a one-off course, it trains the immune system to stop attacking pancreatic cells and has been described by the charity Diabetes UK as “marking the start of a new age of type 1 diabetes treatment”.
Sanofi’s Teplizumab, also known as Tzield, is approved for children aged eight and over and for adults who have type 1 diabetes in its early stage before symptoms appear.
Evidence shows it can delay the onset of type 1, meaning people can live a fuller life and children can have longer before having to aggressively manage their diabetes.
NICE estimates that around 1 100 people could be eligible for teplizumab in the first year, dropping to around 820 patients in the coming years.
How it works
The drug is given through a drip into a vein once a day for 14 days in a row, each infusion taking at least 30 minutes.
The dose starts low and is gradually increased over the first few days of treatment. It is a one-time course of treatment.
Dr Elizabeth Robertson, director of research at Diabetes UK, said: “For the first time in 100 years, we are moving beyond insulin, with a medicine that targets the root cause of the condition. It represents a shift towards a future where type 1 diabetes can be prevented altogether.
“Teplizumab offers those in the early stages of type 1 diabetes extra years free from the relentless demands of managing the condition with insulin, as well as valuable time to prepare.”
In the UK, there are currently two studies looking at screening for type 1 diabetes.
Identifying those with the condition early means they could then be eligible for teplizumab.
The Early Surveillance for Autoimmune Diabetes (Elsa) study, funded by Diabetes UK and Breakthrough T1D, is screening children aged two to 17.
The separate T1DRA study is screening adults between 18 and 70.
Helen Knight, Director of Medicines Evaluation at NICE, said: “This is a genuinely exciting recommendation. For the first time, we have a treatment that can give people diagnosed at an early stage of type 1 diabetes precious extra time before they need to manage the full demands of the condition.
“The evidence shows teplizumab can delay the onset of symptomatic diabetes by an average of nearly three years.”
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In milestone trial, experimental drug markedly delays type 1 diabetes
MHRA approves teplizumab to delay diabetes progression