
Vaccine will cure diabetes: Scientists close to finding new wonder drug
Launching the project today, they believe the research will result in an effective vaccine to combat Type 1 diabetes.
Dr Alasdair Rankin, Diabetes UK’s director of research, said: “This research is hugely exciting because it has the potential to transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of people living with Type 1 diabetes, as well as leading us towards a longed-for cure.”
The vaccine would work in harmony with other treatments that reduce damage to insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
In the first of four new studies, Professor Mark Peakman at King’s College London will lead the UK trial of a prototype vaccine for children and teenagers living with or at high risk of Type 1 diabetes.
At the same time Professor Colin Dayan at Cardiff University will develop a UK-wide network to enable more Type 1 “immunotherapy” trials to take place – and to train the experts who will lead them.
Professor Desmond Johnston of Imperial College London will continue work to identify those newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes so that more people can be offered the opportunity to take part in clinical trials.
Dr Tim Tree, also at King’s College London, will set up a network of specialist laboratories to study the impact of the trials, investigating how different treatments work.
The studies, funded by £4.4million from Diabetes UK with support from Tesco and co-funding from the JDRF diabetes research charity, are being launched at Diabetes UK’s conference in London, which starts today.
Type 1 diabetes is an unavoidable condition with a huge impact on the lives of more th
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