BCG (bacillus Calmette-Guerin), a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccine for tuberculosis and bladder cancer treatment, is also giving diabetes researchers hope for reversing type 1 diabetes.
On Sunday, the FDA announced human testing approval of the vaccine during the 75th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association, reports Daily News. This summer, researchers will begin enrolling patients ages 18 to 60 in a five-year trial.
Only 5 percent of people living with diabetes have type 1 according to the American Diabetes Association. With type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.
Dr. Denise Faustman, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Immunobiology Laboratory in Boston and principal investigator of the study says BCG is “a drug with an impeccable safety record,” highlighting its 90+ years of clinical use.
If the five year trial is successful a larger trial with more participants will follow.
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