FDA Approves Absurd Drug to Delay Diabetes

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A monoclonal antibody injection has been approved for type 1 diabetes. It only costs about $200,000 and comes with a risk of serious side effects.

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Tzield (teplizumab-mzwv), made by drugmakers Sanofi and Provention Bio, for use in adults and children 8 years and older who have stage 2, type 1 diabetes.
• Tzield is a monoclonal antibody injection that neither treats nor prevents type 1 diabetes.
• The treatment is intended to delay the onset of stage 3, type 1 diabetes by only about 25 months.
• The drug’s wholesale cost is $193,900 for a 14-day supply, and it comes with a risk of unknown side effects.
• Tzield may cause cytokine release syndrome (CRS), an acute systemic inflammatory syndrome that includes fever and multiple organ dysfunction.
• Lymphopenia, a reduced level of white blood cells, occurred in 78 percent of patients treated with Tzield.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug that delays onset of type 1 diabetes. (1) The American Diabetes Association called the approval a “historic moment” (2) for those living with the condition. I call it absurdity on steroids, as this drug does not treat or prevent type 1 diabetes. It only delays its onset for about two years.