Teplizumab

Teplizumab is a drug that can treat people found to be at risk of type 1 diabetes and delay its development. It can be used in the US, but it is not yet available in the UK.  

• 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 stop the attack in the pancreas on insulin-producing cells - called beta cells - by reprogramming the immune system.  

The treatment can delay the development of type 1 diabetes in people at high-risk by an average of three years, research has showed.  

This means that if you are at high risk of type 1 diabetes, teplizumab can help you spend extra years with your blood sugar levels in a safe range and free from insulin injections, carb counting, and low blood sugar, also known as hypoglycemia or hypos.

When will teplizumab be approved in the UK?  

We don’t yet know when or if teplizumab will be approved in the UK.  

For a new drug to be licensed in the UK, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, known as the MHRA for short, needs to approve it as safe and effective. We do know the MHRA is assessing teplizumab.  

If the MHRA decides that it is safe for use, it will then be assessed by the National Institute for Health & Care Excellence, or NICE, to determine if and how it should be used within the NHS. 

How is teplizumab given and how often? 

Teplizumab is taken as an injection. In clinical trials it was given to volunteers 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? 

Based on the research conducted so far, teplizumab has been approved for use in the US in people aged 8-40 years who have a high risk of developing type 1 diabetes in the future. 

But teplizumab and other immunotherapies are being tested right now in people who are newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes to see if it can help to protect their remaining beta cells.  

The more beta cells that can be protected, the more insulin people living with type 1 diabetes can produce on their own.  

In the future, immunotherapies might form a cure for type 1 diabetes in people who have lived with the condition for a long time.  

Scientists are looking for ways to replace or regenerate the beta cells that have already been destroyed. Once they can do this, immunotherapies could potentially be used alongside the beta cell replacement therapy to protect new cells from another immune system 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 have a high risk of developing type 1 diabetes in the future – could offer a way to hold off and delay the development of type 1 for as long as possible.  

Further in the future, researchers hope we could extend this delay so that type 1 diabetes never develops in childhood, or even find treatments that could entirely prevent type 1 diabetes in some people. 

How can I find out if I’m at risk of type 1 diabetes? 

Researchers can look for signals in the blood that tell us the immune system is getting ready to attack the pancreas. This gives researchers a way to find people who are likely to develop type 1 diabetes in the future.  

You can find out if you, or your child is at risk of type 1 diabetes by taking part in screening studies in the UK. 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. 

You can visit the NHS website for more information on teplizumab.