SVI discovery leads to global clinical trials to prevent type 1 diabetes

Building on SVI research from the BANDIT trial – in which baricitinib, a once-daily tablet, preserved pancreatic insulin production in people with newly-diagnosed type 1 diabetes – Eli Lilly has announced the launch of the BARICADE Phase 3 trials.

This next stage of research will give people living with diabetes across 20 countries the opportunity to access this promising new therapy.

Years of laboratory work by SVI scientists indicated baricitinib would be an effective treatment for type 1 diabetes. This was confirmed in the BANDIT trial, where the same researchers showed for the first time that baricitinib protected insulin-producing cells from autoimmune attack in people with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes.

Professor Tom Kay, SVI Director, who led the initial trial at SVI, said:

“We are grateful to Lilly and Breakthrough T1D for their support of the BANDIT trial. The two new BARICADE trials from Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of baricitinib, are a very exciting outcome from our bench-to-bedside research.

“Current insulin therapy is lifesaving in diabetes, but it is imperfect, and new treatments such as baricitinib show promise. Preservation of insulin production allows the body’s own amazing processes to better control blood glucose and reduce the burden of type 1 diabetes.”

The two new trials are BARICADE-Delay, a trial of people with pre-symptomatic type 1 diabetes who have been identified by blood screening tests well before they need insulin therapy, and BARICADE-Preserve, a trial like BANDIT, for people with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes.

Professor John Wentworth, Senior Clinical Research Fellow in SVI’s Immunology Laboratory and pioneer of the at-home finger-prick screening test for type 1 diabetes – now widely used in Australia and being adopted globally – added:

“The ability to identify people at risk of type 1 diabetes earlier, and then intervene with therapies like baricitinib, is a game changer.

“We hope the BARICADE trials confirm our BANDIT findings and extend them to people with earlier stages of diabetes, before insulin is required. If we can prevent people progressing to need insulin injections, we’ll simplify their treatment and alleviate the burden of living with type 1 diabetes.”

Details of the Australian clinical trial sites will be announced soon. People interested in updates about these trials and other initiatives should contact the Australasian Type 1 Diabetes Immunotherapy Collaborative (ATIC).