October 7, 2019
A new global study shows that an immunotherapy drug can delay the onset of type 1 diabetes for two years in high-risk children and adults. The study ran in 28 research sites. The trial results are great news for the relatives of the millions of people with diabetes, who are 15 times more likely to get the disease. Jane Buckner, MD, President at Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason called the study and its results groundbreaking. "This is certainly the first time looking at people at very high risk of getting diabetes who don't have it that we've been able to prove that we could delay disease with this treatment," Buckner said. Of 76 participants in the trial, 72% who got a placebo developed diabetes, compared to only 43% who got teplizumab. Most of those in the trial were under 18 years old.