2026-04-09 12:59:15
A revolutionary one-off jab hailed as a potential “functional cure” for type 1 diabetes is set to be trialled in humans this year.
The groundbreaking treatment could allow patients to ditch daily insulin injections by turning their own muscles into long-term insulin producers.
In a world-first study, adults with type 1 diabetes will be given a gene therapy known as KRIYA-839, which delivers genetic instructions to muscle cells – effectively transforming them into mini insulin factories.
Dr Partha Kar, NHS England’s national speciality adviser for diabetes, said: “If it works, it could help a lot of people.
“I see it as positive… I certainly would be keeping a very close eye on this.”
He added the approach is “really exciting” and could act as a “functional cure”.
Type 1 diabetes affects around 464,000 people in the UK and occurs when the immune system destroys insulin-producing cells, leaving patients reliant on injections or pumps to survive.
But this new therapy aims to bypass the pancreas entirely.
After a single injection into the thigh, muscle cells could begin producing insulin and other key proteins to regulate blood sugar – potentially for years or even decades.
Early animal studies suggest the effects could last up to four years without ongoing treatment.
Jeremy Pettus, an endocrinologist at the University of California, said: “It’s very exciting to stand here and say that this is actually something that’s in the works and happening now.”
Patients in the trial will receive injections in both thighs during a single outpatient visit, with full effects expected within two to three months.
Experts stress it is not a cure just yet.
Tadej Battelino, head of endocrinology at UCH-UMC Ljubljana, said: “I’m not saying it’s a cure, but a functional cure, for sure.”
Dr Kar added even partial success could be life-changing.
He said: “If you’re saying, ‘Hey, listen, we can reproduce 75 per cent of your need of insulin’, then you probably would be like, ‘wow, that’s a big thing.'”
If successful, the jab could transform diabetes care – replacing daily management with a single breakthrough treatment.
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