First NHS Patient Receives Diabetes Drug Teplizumab in Birmingham
Annette Quilter, a 42-year-old GP from Shropshire, became the first patient given diabetes drug teplizumab on the NHS this week at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. The treatment can delay the onset of insulin-dependent Type 1 diabetes in early-stage patients.
The first patient given diabetes drug teplizumab on the NHS received the treatment this week at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), the hospital said. The drug is designed to delay the onset of Type 1 diabetes.
Annette Quilter, 42, from Shropshire, received the first NHS dose. She was diagnosed with Stage 2 Type 1 diabetes in the summer and was found eligible after screening and assessment.
Teplizumab can delay the progression of early-stage Type 1 diabetes. That could give patients more time before they have to start taking insulin.
Quilter, a GP and mother of three, said the diagnosis had come as a shock. "Luckily, it was picked up early enough for this new treatment to be an option for me, the team here have worked really hard to make it happen quickly," she said.
"To have a little bit of breathing space before I need to start insulin, and time to prepare for that, means a great deal," she added.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body's immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. It differs from Type 2, which is often, but not always, linked to being overweight. People with Type 1 must monitor their blood glucose and give themselves insulin by injection or pump.
Teplizumab works by slowing the immune system's destruction of those cells. Research trials have shown it can halve the rate at which patients progress to needing insulin.
Treatment involves one infusion a day for 14 consecutive days. Each takes about 30 minutes and is followed by a period of observation.
The drug has been available through the NHS since June 2026 for eligible children aged over eight and for adults with Stage 2 Type 1 diabetes.
Dr Danijela Tatovic of the University of Birmingham team involved in the research called it a milestone that followed years of work on early detection and treatment. "For the first time, we have a treatment that can delay progression to insulin-requiring Type 1 Diabetes, offering patients and their families valuable additional time before the condition develops further," she said.
Matthew Metcalfe, hospital executive director at QEHB, said Birmingham had been at the forefront of diabetes research for many years. "We are incredibly proud to have treated the first patient in the UK with Teplizumab at QEHB and to now be able to offer this pioneering treatment to eligible patients," he said.
