diabetes vaccine seen in near future

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Diabetes Vaccine Possible This Decade, Says Report

In the not-too-distant future we could see diabetes, the seventh leading

cause of death in the U.S., treated with a vaccine. Several vaccine

candidates

are in the pipeline, creating a possible $2.4 billion market for diabetes

vaccine products by 2020.

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Type 1 diabetes currently afflicts 35,000 people in the U.S. and about

700,000 people worldwide each year. Type 2 diabetes affects more than 16

million

Americans and over 200 million people worldwide.

Currently, other than a humanized anti-CD3 antibody with considerable side

effects, there is no other means to reverse new-onset Type 1 diabetes.

People

with Type 2 diabetes must control their blood sugar levels with diet and

exercise, and approximately 78% also take prescription medications to help

control

their diabetes. However, they remain at risk for a large number of

associated conditions including foot ulcers, heart disease, kidney failure,

and various

skin conditions.

There are at least seven diabetes vaccine candidates in development. Most

are in Phase I testing and address Type 1 diabetes. But one being developed

by

the Swedish company Diamyd Medical is currently in a global Phase III trial,

which includes 640 children and adolescents newly diagnosed with Type 1

diabetes.

The purpose of the Phase III trial is to confirm and evaluate the ability of

the Diamyd vaccine to arrest or slow the autoimmune destruction of the

body's

insulin-producing cells, thereby preserving the body's own ability to

produce insulin. Initial analysis of data from the Phase II trial showed

that patients

treated with the Diamyd vaccine early after diagnosis have a clearly better

diabetes status compared to the corresponding placebo group four years after

the injections.

In a special report, Kalorama predicts a $100 million market from diabetes

vaccines by 2012 as the first product currently in Phase III trials enters

the

market, with growth amounting to $2.4 billion by 2020 as other products

reach market.