Diabetes Vaccine Advances to Trial

The FDA has approved a Phase I clinical trial for a potential diabetes vaccine.

The study will enroll 15 adults with Type 1 diabetes and is expected to conclude later this year. It is being conducted at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in collaboration with Bayer Healthcare.

The study uses a leukapheresis-based approach, meaning that dendritic cell precursors from patients are collected and treated in a lab that turns them into dendritic cells. These cells are then injected back into the patients to create an anti-diabetic effect, thereby suppressing the activity of harmful T-cells, Children’s Hospital said.