Type 1 Diabetes Study: All 12 Patients Now Insulin-Free

For 36 years, Carling Nolan has heard the same promise: a cure for Type 1 diabetes is just five years away. Now, a clinical trial at the University of Chicago is making that decades-old hope real.

Researchers have combined donated islet cells with a new targeted immunosuppressant drug called Tegoprubart. The islet cells help the pancreas produce insulin, while the drug protects those cells from the immune system that originally destroyed them.

The results have stunned even the scientists involved. All 12 patients who received the treatment no longer need daily insulin injections. Nine achieved normal blood sugar levels in about 60 days.

Type 1 diabetes affects 2.1 million Americans and more than 9 million people worldwide. It's an autoimmune condition where the body destroys its own insulin-producing cells, forcing patients to manage their blood sugar every hour of every day.

Kate Lecker, diagnosed at age 5, knows that struggle intimately. After years of managing her diabetes, she recently developed a severe and rare allergy to insulin itself, making her daily survival a painful challenge.

Lecker is now on the transplant list and carrying her phone everywhere, waiting for the call to go to Chicago. Her teenage daughter also has Type 1 diabetes, making the stakes even more personal.

"If she had to be diagnosed, it's in these times," Lecker said. "These therapies will be possible in the future, and it may be an option versus a dream."

The Ripple Effect

Eledon, the drug company behind Tegoprubart, spent six years developing the medication. CEO Dr. David-Alexandre Gros said the speed of recovery surprised even his team. Getting patients off insulin in 60 days represents a dramatic improvement over previous approaches.

The trial is now expanding into a second phase, and Eledon plans to bring its findings to the FDA soon. If approved, Tegoprubart could become available to thousands of people who currently manage their diabetes 24/7 with no break.

For Nolan, who runs the Western Pennsylvania chapter of Breakthrough T1D, the thought feels almost too good to believe. She's already imagining what life could look like without constant blood sugar monitoring, without the exhaustion of highs and lows, without the mental load that never goes away.

The path from laboratory to widespread treatment takes time. But for the first time in decades, the Type 1 diabetes community isn't just hearing promises. They're seeing people walk away from insulin injections and live normally.

That's not a dream five years away anymore. It's happening right now in Chicago.