Off-the-shelf stem cell therapy for type 1 diabetes yields more positive results

Elizabeth Cooney is a cardiovascular disease reporter at STAT, covering heart, stroke, and metabolic conditions. You can reach Liz on Signal at LizC.22.

Twelve people with type 1 diabetes who received an investigational off-the-shelf stem cell therapy were able to produce their own insulin and keep healthy blood glucose levels for at least one year, Vertex Pharmaceuticals said Friday. After three months, none of them suffered severe bouts of low blood sugar. After 12 months, out of the 12 participants, 10 no longer needed to inject insulin.

The study, presented Friday at the American Diabetes Association’s scientific meeting and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine, updates previous research that followed these participants for a shorter period of time. All the participants received a full dose of the therapy, now called zimislecel but previously known as VX-880. 

Derived from a lab-grown stem cell line intended to differentiate into insulin creators, the therapy is designed to give people new islet cells that produce insulin, replacing their natural counterparts impaired by the disease.