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Experimental Therapy Helps Some With Type 1 Diabetes Stop Using Insulin
· Confirmed
In Short: Eledon Pharmaceuticals' experimental immune therapy, tegoprubart, has shown promise in helping some patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) stop using insulin, according to a study published by Healthcare Brew.
Eledon Pharmaceuticals' experimental immune therapy, tegoprubart, has shown promise in helping some patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) stop using insulin, according to a study published by Healthcare Brew.
The therapy, an anti-CD40 ligand, is designed to inhibit the immune response to transplanted cells, such as pancreatic islets, with fewer side effects.
In a trial involving 12 participants with T1D, 11 were able to stop using insulin after receiving the experimental treatment, a significant milestone in diabetes research.
Piotr Witkowski, director of the pancreas and islet transplant program at UChicago Medicine, noted that one participant had stopped using insulin after passing a four-week threshold, indicating a potential long-term benefit.
The therapy combines islet transplantation with tegoprubart to prevent the immune system from attacking the transplanted cells, reducing the need for immunosuppressive drugs.
Marlon Pragnell, VP of research and science at the American Diabetes Association, highlighted the potential of tegoprubart to solve transplant-related immune toxicity, a common issue following islet transplantation.
Dr. Haller, a researcher involved in the study, emphasized the importance of combination therapy, noting that for individuals with residual beta-cell function, using potent immunomodulators like teplizumab or SAB-142 can be effective.
The study also included maintenance therapy with baricitinib, a JAK inhibitor approved for rheumatoid arthritis and alopecia areata, which has been shown to preserve beta-cell function.
Background
Eledon Pharmaceuticals' experimental immune therapy, tegoprubart, has shown promise in helping some patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) stop using insulin, according to a study published by Healthcare Brew.
What's confirmed
- The FDA has approved the once-weekly injectable basal insulin drug insulin efsitora alfa-gobe (Onswik, Eli Lilly) for use as an adjunct with diet and exercise to help control blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
What's still developing
- If the more serious side effects can be prevented, a much larger population of people with T1D could have access to this therapy.
- "It's extremely unusual in a kid who presented like he did at his age, to now at almost 11 years old have such a robust C peptide with low insulin requirement and A1c in the low 5s. I will argue that's because of this combination therapy approach," Haller said.
- "Most of us say that until we have a therapy that truly induces immune tolerance, which would be actually fixing the immune system entirely and permanently, we're going to need this sort of induction and maintenance therapy model. That's how almost all other autoimmune diseases are treated," said Haller.
- In 2023, the groundbreaking Australian BANDIT (Baricitinib in New Onset Type 1 Diabetes) trial [1] reported that a daily pill of baricitinib, commonly prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis and alopecia, could safely preserve the body's own insulin production and slow the progression of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in people recently diagnosed with the condition.
- Now the follow-up of the blinded BANDIT trial, being presented at this year's Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Vienna (15-19 Sept), reveals that once baricitinib treatment was stopped, participants' diabetes progressed-they produced less insulin and had less stable blood sugar levels, that were not significantly different to those on placebo.
- People taking GLP-1 receptor agonists reported substantially more nail, hair, and scalp problems than comparable adults with obesity or type 2 diabetes who had never used the drugs, according to two multinational studies presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress 2026.
- The nail study compared 575 people using GLP-1 receptor agonists with 1,329 people in France, the United States, Brazil, and Mexico who had type 2 diabetes and/or obesity but had never taken the drugs.
- The FDA approval decision was also informed by phase 3 data in two trials in adults with type 2 diabetes and CKD, FIDELIO-DKD and FIGARO-DKD.
- Two months after the This Is Us alum shared she had begun using a GLP-1—a Type II diabetes medication that can also be prescribed for weight loss—she reflected on the other health benefits she has experienced—namely, the strength to handle a four-month stint in Broadway’s & Juliet, which ended last month.
- New Kaiser Permanente research shows that a clinical pharmacist with diabetes management expertise who contacts patients to discuss hypoglycemia and alternative treatment options can effectively move patients on to safer treatment regimens.
- The clinical trial, published in JAMA Network Open, included 191 patients with type 2 diabetes who were at high risk for hypoglycemia, or who were at intermediate risk but had recently required emergency care for hypoglycemia and were on a sulfonylurea, a commonly used diabetes medication that can increase risk for hypoglycemia.
- The human gut is home to trillions of microorganisms (the microbiome), a vast community that helps shape digestion, immune function and metabolism.