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Type 1 diabetes immunotherapy research “promising” for developing new treatments (10 August 2017)

Date: 10/08/2017
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Type 1 diabetes immunotherapy research “promising” for developing new treatments

Pioneering immunotherapy research at King’s College London has brought the possibility of a new treatment for Type 1 diabetes a step closer.

Type 1 diabetes develops when a patient’s immune system mistakenly attacks the insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas – without treatment the number of beta cells will slowly decrease until the body is no longer able to maintain normal blood sugar (blood glucose) levels.

Researchers at King’s College working with colleagues at Cardiff University found that it may be possible to “retrain” the immune system to slow the progression of Type 1 diabetes.

The team leading the MonoPepT1De observed noticeable changes in the behaviour of the immune systems of Type 1 diabetes patients who had been injected with peptides – small fragments of the protein molecules found in the beta cells of the pancreas.

Lead researcher Professor Mark Peakman – whose work is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London – said:

“When someone is diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes they still typically have between 15% and 20% of their beta cells – we wanted to see if we could protect these remaining cells by retraining the immune system to stop attacking them.

“We still have a long way to go, but these early results suggest we are heading in the right direction – the peptide technology used in our trial not only appears to be safe for patients at this stage, but it also has a noticeable effect on the immune system.”


There is currently no cure for Type 1 diabetes, which can affect the body’s major organs – including the heart, blood vessels, nerves, eyes and kidneys.

The UK has one of the highest rates of Type 1 diabetes in the world, with 400,000 people currently living with the condition.

Clinical Chief Investigator for the study, Prof Colin Dayan from Cardiff University, added:

“It was encouraging to see that people who receive the treatment needed less insulin to control their blood glucose levels, suggesting that their pancreas was working better.”

The study was supported by Diabetes UK and JDRF, the Type 1 diabetes charity. Director of Research at Diabetes UK, Dr Elizabeth Robertson, said:

“Diabetes UK is committed to increasing our understanding of the immune attack in Type 1 diabetes and finding ways to stop it.

“These new findings are an exciting step towards immunotherapies being used to prevent this serious condition from developing in those at high risk – or stop it from progressing in those already diagnosed.”


Following the success of the MonoPepT1De trial, King’s and Belgian Biopharmaceutical company UCB Biopharma are collaborating on a next generation product – MultipepT1De – in a Phase 1b safety study.

UCB has also acquired from King’s College London the exclusive worldwide licences to MonopepT1De and MultipepT1De.

The research is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Solicitors

Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Solicitors can advise those who have suffered injury as a result of negligence diabetes care or misdiagnosis on how to make a no win no fee claim for compensation.

Diabetes claims have to be made within three years of when negligence became evident. Children can make clinical negligence claims up to the age of 21.

Duncan Lewis also offers supportive legal advice to bereaved families whose loved one may have lost their life as a result of diabetes misdiagnosis or poor diabetes care and who wish to claim compensation.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee Diabetes Claims, call Duncan Lewis clinical negligence solicitors on 0333 772 0409.

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