An article from 10 March 2026 in Dagens Pharma highlights the EU approval of teplizumab, the first disease-modifying treatment aimed at delaying the onset of clinical type 1 diabetes in people with early-stage disease.
Flemming Pociot explains how the treatment could delay the onset of type 1 diabetes (T1D) by several years. For children and families, that time can make an enormous difference to prepare for what lies ahead before a child has to live with a lifelong chronic disease. For teenagers, it may mean postponing the challenges of T1D until after puberty.
But treatments like this depend on one crucial factor: early detection.
In stage 2 of type 1 diabetes – the stage just before symptoms appear – the disease can already be identified through biomarkers in the blood. This is exactly the group that the new therapy targets.
Through DiaUnion, Flemming Pociot and his team at Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen are working to identify people at risk before the disease develops. Thousands of individuals in both Denmark and Sweden have already been screened as part of this effort in DiaUnion, enabling earlier diagnosis, closer follow-up and – now – potentially access to disease-modifying therapies.
As Flemming notes in the interview, early diagnosis not only opens the door to new treatment options. It also allows families to prepare for the disease and may help avoid severe and sudden disease onset, such as diabetic ketoacidosis.
The approval of teplizumab marks an important step forward for the type 1 diabetes community. It also reinforces a key message: if we want these innovations to benefit patients, early detection of T1D must become part of our healthcare systems.
🔗 Read the article in Dagens Pharma (behind paywall):
EU godkender ny behandling til tidlig type 1-diabetes – Dagens Pharma
