The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first drug that could delay the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D).
Teplizumab (Tzield) targets the autoimmune issues that drive the disease, rather than its symptoms, making the medication a game changer.
“Today’s approval of a first-in-class therapy adds an important new treatment option for certain at-risk patients,” Dr. John Sharretts, director of the division of diabetes, lipid disorders, and obesity in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a news release. “The drug’s potential to delay clinical diagnosis of type 1 diabetes may provide patients with months to years without the burdens of disease.”
