Type 1 Diabetes Vaccines April 2023

Type 1 Diabetes Vaccines April 2023

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is caused when a person's pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin, which helps blood sugar enter human cells. Without insulin, blood sugar can't get into cells and builds up in the bloodstream. Studies aimed at blocking the immune attack on β cells in people at risk or individuals with very early onset type 1 diabetes show promise in preserving endogenous insulin production.

As of April 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had not approved a Type 1 diabetes vaccine. The search for vaccine therapies to improve blood sugar control continues in various countries.

Type 1 Diabetes Vaccine Candidates

Vaccination with BCGΔBCG1419c increased memory CD8+T cell-associated immunogenicity and mitigated pulmonary inflammation compared with BCG.

Preclinical study results indicate that red beet plants are suitable for producing a candidate oral vaccine based on GAD65 for the future preclinical and clinical testing of T1D immunotherapy approaches.

A research group at the University of Tampere has identified a prototype vaccine to prevent the viruses that may cause T1D.

Type 1 Diabetes and BCG Vaccination

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) published results from a study led by Denise Faustman in the peer-review journal Cell Reports on August 15, 2022, that found people with T1D vaccinated with 3-doses of bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) displayed fewer infectious disease symptoms, lesser severity, and fewer infectious disease events per patient. In addition, on June 25, 2021, researchers from MGH announced positive updates that BCG vaccination was associated with significantly lower blood sugars. On January 20, 2023, NYU Langone Health withdrew from this phase 2 clinical study. Last Update Posted: February 9, 2023.

The results from a study published on November 16, 2022 - BCG vaccinations drive epigenetic changes to the human T cell receptor: Restored expression in type 1 diabetes. In randomized controlled trials, BCG vaccinations were to improve autoimmune conditions, such as type 1 diabetes. 

According to research published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology on May 5, 2020, a novel vaccine candidate that uses a person’s own immune cells and vitamin D3 to treat type 1 diabetes is both safe and feasible. β-cell function and overall diabetic control remained stable during the 6 months of extensive monitoring.

In May 2022, the National Institute of Scientific Research in Quebec researchers published a study that found that early-life BCG vaccination did not reduce the risk of diabetes in adolescence. Still, when those children were older than 30, their risk of T1D was 35% lower.

Recent studies (Mar. 2020) concluded there is no robust evidence to support using the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine to treat T1D, although the HbA1c levels tended to improve by augmenting aerobic glycolysis.

On February 27, 2020, the Journal of Internal Medicine published a meta-analysis study that concluded, 'New findings of immune and metabolic defects in T1D that can be corrected with repeat BCG vaccination.'

On May 22, 2020, Science Direct published a study: BCG Vaccinations Upregulate Myc, a Central Switch for Improved Glucose Metabolism in Diabetes. This is the first documentation of BCG induction of Myc and its association with systemic blood sugar control in a chronic disease like diabetes.

On June 21, 2018, the journal Nature published a study: Long-term reduction in hyperglycemia in advanced T1D. After year 3, BCG lowered hemoglobin A1c to near-normal levels for the next five years.

Type 1 Diabetes Injectable Drugs

November 17, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Tzield (teplizumab-mzwv) injection to delay the onset of stage 3 type 1 diabetes in adults and pediatric patients eight years and older who currently have stage 2 type 1 diabetes. 

Type 2 Diabetes

On May 13, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly's Mounjaro injection to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes as an addition to diet and exercise. Mounjaro is a treatment and is not indicated for use in patients with type 1 diabetes and is not a vaccine.