Chinese scientists achieve diabetes cure through innovative cell therapy, detailed in Cell Discovery. Patient, treated in July 2021, no longer requires insulin after eleven weeks, and is now medication-free for 33 months. The breakthrough, praised by Timothy Kieffer, signifies a major advancement in diabetes treatment. This novel approach utilizes the body’s regenerative abilities and could alleviate China’s healthcare burden. Further studies are needed for validation.
Source: Economic Times
Well, well, well, it appears as if diabetes’ days may be numbered. A report from China shows that a new cell therapy may not only treat but also fully cure diabetes in patients. The new therapy programs the patient’s blood cells to recreate pancreatic islet tissue, restoring pancreatic function and eliminating the need for insulin and oral medication. The approach harnesses the body’s ability to regenerate damaged tissues.
While the potential cure has worldwide implications, it could have a particularly large impact in China. 140 million people in China have diabetes, and about 40 million rely on insulin injections. That’s a ton of people, and assuming each patient gets one daily injection (a conservative estimate), that’s 14.6B insulin injections each year in China. And with an estimated production cost of $3-$6 per injection, China is spending $45-$90B each year on insulin injections. The new cell therapy could significantly reduce the need for insulin, lower the cost burden, and improve the quality of life for millions of patients.
To be clear, this result was for one patient. It’s likely very expensive. The result will need to be replicated in more patients, and cell therapies will need to become less costly before we get too excited about diabetes being cured. Cell therapies have been cited as “Medicine’s Endgame”, and that’s why more medical researchers consider it important to figure out solutions to the bottlenecks in cell therapy manufacturing.