6519 BCG Clinical Trial Programs in Advanced Type 1 Diabetes - 2024 Update

Abstract Disclosure: W.M. Kühtreiber: None. B. Thach: None. H. Hayashi: None. L. Adams: None. N. Hullavarad: None. D.A. Mounier: None. K. Le: None. E. Bulczynski: None. J.L. Dorsey: None. N. Kartsounis: None. J. Braley: None. H. Zheng: None. D.L. Faustman: None. The bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, originally developed a century ago to prevent tuberculosis infection, has today advanced in multiple clinical trials for the treatment of the type 1 diabetes (T1D), other forms of autoimmunity and infectious disease. At our institution, over 500 individuals with type 1 diabetes have been enrolled in ongoing BCG clinical protocols to test BCG’s ability to lower HbA1c, reduce insulin requirements and stabilize day-to-day fluctuations in blood sugars; 300 have been treated with BCG. In a completed randomized, placebo-controlled Phase I trial in adults with established T1D, long-term follow up continues to show that HbA1c values are durably lowered for 8+ years after multi-dose BCG treatment. In two open-label clinical trials in adults with juvenile-onset diabetes, a 10-15% reduction of HbA1c was observed after multi-dose BCG treatment. A randomized, double-blinded Phase II trial in adults with longstanding T1D has followed all patients in the BCG-treated (n=100) and placebo groups (n=50) for five years and is pending read-out. The primary outcome of all the trials is HbA1c lowering. Two new, randomized, double-blinded pediatric trials are testing the potential benefits of BCG vaccination with active enrollment ongoing. One is testing BCG in children ages 12 to 18 with more than 2 years since T1D diagnosis. The other is enrolling children ages 8 to 18 with less than 1 year since T1D diagnosis. BCG vaccine therapy may provide a safe and affordable medical intervention in individuals with longstanding T1D and works decades after disease onset by changing glucose metabolism within lymphocytes, independently of the pancreas. Presentation: 6/3/2024