Overview

• The MHRA authorized teplizumab for people aged eight and older with stage two type 1 diabetes, making the UK the first European country to license a disease-modifying immunotherapy for this stage.
• Trials show that a 14-day regimen of daily intravenous infusions can delay progression to clinical (stage three) type 1 diabetes by about three years.
• The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will assess teplizumab’s cost-effectiveness next, determining whether it will be available on the NHS or only through private channels.
• Successful rollout depends on establishing autoantibody screening programmes and expanding infusion-service capacity to identify eligible patients and deliver the therapy.
• Charities including Diabetes UK and Breakthrough T1D have hailed the licence as a major advance and are pressing for swift NHS approval and infrastructure planning.