New Trials and Drugs Advance Type 1 Diabetes Care

Teplizumab, a drug already approved in the US, is being trialed in the UK for its ability to delay the progression of type 1 diabetes by retraining the immune system, potentially postponing the need for insulin by about three years. The treatment is currently available to a select group of NHS patients, including the first adult UK recipient, Hannah Robinson, who was diagnosed with early-stage diabetes during pregnancy. Teplizumab must be given at the earliest stage of the disease to be effective and is administered on a case-by-case basis pending wider NHS approval. In a separate development, UCLA researchers have found that JAK inhibitors, a class of autoimmune drugs, could prevent or reverse immune checkpoint inhibitor–induced type 1 diabetes, a rare but serious side effect in cancer immunotherapy patients, without reducing the effectiveness of cancer treatment. Both advances offer hope for delaying insulin dependence and improving diabetes management. Experts suggest these therapies could significantly transform diabetes care and survivorship.