Teplizumab is a drug that can treat people found to be in the early stages of type 1 diabetes, to hold off its development. It is available in some countries, including the US and Canada, but has not been licensed in the UK yet.
- What is teplizumab?
- When will it be approved in the UK?
- How do you take teplizumab?
- Side effects
- Can people with type 1 diabetes take teplizumab?
- How can I find out if I’m at risk of type 1 diabetes?
- More information and support
What is teplizumab?
Teplizumab, also known by the brand name Tzield, was licensed in the US in 2022 as the world’s first-ever immunotherapy for type 1 diabetes.
Teplizumab helps slow the attack on insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas by reprogramming the immune system.
The treatment can delay the full development of type 1 diabetes in people who are in the symptomless early stages of the condition by an average of three years.
This means teplizumab can help you spend extra years with your blood sugar levels in a safe range and free from insulin therapy, carb counting, and low blood sugar, also known as hypoglycemia or hypos.
When will teplizumab be approved in the UK?
Right now, teplizumab is only available in research settings in the UK.
For a new drug to be licensed here, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, known as the MHRA, needs to approve it as safe and effective. We do know the MHRA is assessing teplizumab and we’re expecting them to decide on whether to license it in Summer 2025.
For teplizumab to be made available on the NHS the National Institute for Health & Care Excellence, or NICE, must complete a review to determine if and how it should be used within the NHS. We know NICE are assessing this now.
How is teplizumab given and how often?
Teplizumab is taken as an IV infusion. In research settings, people receive an infusion once a day for 14 days.
Side effects of teplizumab
Clinical trials have shown that teplizumab is safe.
Some side effects that were observed in research trials included a rash and low white blood cell count, which can increase your risk of infections.
Can people who have type 1 diabetes take teplizumab?
People living with type 1 diabetes can't be prescribed teplizumab in the UK. But there are clinical trials underway to see if this is a possibility for the future.
The drug has already been tested in clinical trials involving people recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It was found to protect beta cells and help participants to continue making some of their own insulin for longer.
I already have type 1 diabetes. Could I benefit from teplizumab?
Teplizumab is currently being considered for use in the UK in people who have early-stage type 1 diabetes, before they’ve fully developed the condition.
But clinical trials have shown it can also help people recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, when around 20% of their beta cells remain alive.
Teplizumab has been found to protect these surviving beta cells so that people can continue to produce some of their own insulin for longer. This can make managing blood sugar levels easier and reduce the long-term risk of diabetes complications.
In the future, immunotherapies like teplizumab might also form part of a cure for type 1 diabetes in people who have lived with the condition for a long time.
Through our research and the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, we’re supporting scientists to develop treatments to replace or regenerate the beta cells that have already been destroyed in people with type 1. Once we can do this, immunotherapies could potentially be used alongside these cell therapies to protect new cells from further immune attack.
Can type 1 diabetes be prevented?
At the moment, type 1 diabetes can’t be prevented.
But immunotherapies in combination with type 1 diabetes screening – to find people who are going to develop type 1 diabetes in the future – could offer a way to hold off and delay the full development of type 1 for as long as possible.
Further in the future, researchers hope we could extend this delay, maybe for life, so that type 1 diabetes never develops.
How can I find out if I’m at risk of type 1 diabetes?
Researchers can look for signals in the blood, called type 1 diabetes autoantibodies, that tell us the immune system has started to attack the pancreas. This gives researchers a way to find people who are almost certain to develop type 1 diabetes in the future.
You can find out if you, or your child has autoantibodies by taking part in screening studies. The ELSA study screens children aged 3-13 years across the UK, and the T1DRA study screens adults between 18-70 years.
More information and support
Still have more questions? Or is there anything you're not sure about after reading this page? Contact our helpline on 0345 123 2399.
