We take a look at some of the exciting diabetes research developments announced in March 2026, and what the findings could mean for people living with or affected by diabetes.
In this month's article:
- A step forward for beta cell therapy without immunosuppression
- Triple hormone drug shows promise to treat type 2
- Nightshift work may make managing type 2 diabetes more challenging
A step forward for beta cell therapy without immunosuppression
New results from a first in-human study suggest that a transplant of gene-edited, insulin-producing beta cells can work for more than a year and help restore the body’s own insulin production.
The findings add to the early evidence that beta cell therapies could one day treat type 1 diabetes, without the need for immunosuppressive drugs.
Beta cell therapies aim to give people with type 1 new beta cells so they can make their own insulin again. But protecting these cells from the body’s immune system remains a major challenge.
Currently, people who receive a cell transplant need to take lifelong immunosuppression to stop the immune system from attacking the transplanted cells. But these drugs carry significant risks, meaning only a small number of people can safely receive a transplant.
Sana Biotechnology is investigating ways to get around this roadblock. They are testing a new treatment called UP421. Scientists take donor beta cells and alter the cells' DNA in the lab, so that the immune system is less likely to recognise and attack them. These are known as ‘hypoimmune’ cells.
So far, Sana has reported results from one person with type 1 diabetes who received a transplant of these modified beta cells into a muscle in their arm. The person did not take immunosuppressing drugs following the transplant.
Earlier results showed that four weeks after receiving UP421, the hypoimmune beta cells had survived and were already producing insulin.
Now, fourteen months on, the transplanted cells are still alive and continue to produce insulin. Importantly, the participant’s insulin production increased after meals, suggesting the cells were responding to the body’s needs.
This provides encouraging early evidence that genetically protected beta cells may function over longer periods without immunosuppression.
But there are lots more questions to answer. This study was a small, early test designed to look at safety. Testing the treatment in more people will be essential to understand how well it works, how long the cells last, and who it might help.
Sana is also now planning further studies using hypoimmune beta cells made from stem cells. This could be a more scalable approach than relying on donor cells.
Research like this highlights how we’re moving closer to the goal of replacing or restoring beta cells to reduce or remove the need for insulin therapy.
Through the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, Diabetes UK is supporting research to boost innovation and progress in beta cell therapies and bring us closer to transformational treatments and cures.
Triple hormone drug shows promise to treat type 2
The latest results of a large clinical trial suggest that a new treatment, called retatrutide, could help people with type 2 diabetes lower their blood sugar levels and lose weight.
Retatrutide belongs to a group of type 2 diabetes treatments known as incretin drugs. They work by copying hormones naturally released in the gut, which helps the body lower blood sugar levels and reduce appetite. This includes GLP-1 agonists, like Ozempic, which act on one hormone. And Mounjaro, which acts on two.
Retatrutide goes a step further by targeting three hormones at the same time:
- GLP-1, which helps lower blood sugar, reduces appetite and slows digestion.
- GIP, which helps the body release insulin.
- Glucagon, which helps the body use energy more efficiently.
By working on all three pathways together, the drug aims to tackle several of the biological processes that go wrong in type 2 diabetes at once. This could lead to bigger improvements in blood sugar control and support weight loss in a more powerful way than current incretin treatments.
In their TRANSCEND-T2D-1 phase 3 clinical trial, Eli Lilly researchers have been investigating the effects and safety of retatrutide in people with type 2 diabetes. They enrolled 537 adults who’d lived with type 2 diabetes for an average of 2.5 years, had a BMI of ≥23 kg/m², and who had above target blood sugar levels. Participants hadn’t taken any diabetes medications in the 90 days before the study and were not using insulin.
In the trial, people took a once-weekly injection of retatrutide or a placebo for 40 weeks, alongside healthy eating and physical activity. Some people started on a low dose, which was gradually increased over time.
Over 40 weeks, the researchers found that:
- retatrutide lowered people’s HbA1c by up to 2.0% on average;
- those who took the highest dose of retatrutide lost 16.8% of their body weight on average, and weight loss was still continuing at the end of the study;
- improvements were also seen in cholesterol and blood pressure, which is important for reducing the risk of diabetes complications.
The side effects were similar to those already seen with GLP-1 agonists, such as nausea or stomach upset, particularly when doses were increased.
For many people living with type 2 diabetes, keeping blood sugar levels in range and managing weight can be really challenging. The results of this clinical trial suggest that retatrutide has exciting potential as a new treatment option that supports both blood sugar level management and weight loss.
More studies are needed to understand who retatrutide works best for and how it compares directly with existing incretin treatments. But this trial adds to growing optimism that next generation therapies could make managing type 2 diabetes simpler and more effective in the years ahead.
Nightshift work may make managing type 2 diabetes more challenging
New findings from Diabetes UK-funded researchers show that nightshift work can make day-to-day blood sugar management tougher for people living with type 2 diabetes.
Shift workers are an essential part of our workforce, economy and community. But night work has long been linked to poorer long-term blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
To dig deeper into the impact of shift working, researchers at King’s College London followed healthcare workers with type 2 diabetes in their study published in Diabetic Medicine. They captured in detail how eating patterns, activity levels, sleep and blood sugar levels changed during night shifts compared with day shifts and days off.
Each participant wore a glucose monitor, an activity tracker and kept detailed food and sleep diaries. This offered a rare real-world window into how eating, movement, and blood sugar levels change from one shift to the next.
Among the 37 participants, most of whom were nurses and midwives, night shifts were linked with more frequent eating, higher overall energy intake and a higher proportion of calories coming from sweet snacks. They were also awake longer and took more steps during night shifts.
Average blood sugar levels stayed about the same across shift types, but the ups and downs in blood sugar were bigger on night shift days. These larger swings can make it harder for people to stay within their target glucose range.
Together, these findings give a clearer picture of how demanding shift work can be for people living with type 2 diabetes. Much of the usual type 2 diabetes advice is built around steady routines, regular mealtimes and predictable sleep - something shift workers don’t always have. For many, their day-to-day reality doesn’t match the guidance they’re given.
That’s why tailoring advice to fit around their changing schedules may help them manage their blood sugar more effectively. Further research will help show what kinds of support work best and how to build them into the lives of people who work around the clock.
