NICE approves teplizumab to delay type 1 diabetes on NHS

A first-of-its-kind therapy that can delay the onset of type 1 diabetes for up to three years has been approved for use on the National Health Service in England and Wales. The drug, teplizumab, represents the first treatment in a century that targets the underlying cause of the autoimmune condition rather than just managing its symptoms.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended the immunotherapy for children aged eight and over and adults who are in the early, pre-symptomatic stage of type 1 diabetes. The approval was described by officials and charity leaders as a landmark and genuinely exciting moment that marks the start of a new age of treatment. Type 1 diabetes affects around 400,000 people in the UK and occurs when the body’s immune system attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, necessitating lifelong insulin therapy.

Teplizumab is administered as a one-time, 14-day course of daily intravenous infusions. Clinical evidence shows it can delay the progression to symptomatic diabetes by an average of nearly three years. Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at NICE, said the treatment gives people precious extra time before...