Breaking News from EASD 2019

This page was last updated at 12:56 a.m. PT on Sep. 20, 2019.

From Tuesday September 17 to Friday September 20, the biggest international diabetes conference of the year is taking place in Barcelona, Spain—the European Association for the Study of Diabetes 55th Annual Meeting (#EASD2019). This annual meeting brings together researchers, healthcare providers, diabetes technology companies and many more from around the globe.

More than 17,000 participants from over 100 countries worldwide are planning on attending this meeting where nearly 1200 abstracts will be presented. That’s a lot of news to take in! Beyond Type 1 is doing the hard work for you: we’re reporting live from EASD 2019 and aggregating the most important industry and technological updates here.

Editor’s Note: this article will be updated regularly with breaking news and announcements over the course of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes 55th Annual Meeting. Check back often! Follow along on twitter at #EASD2019.

Friday September 20th

• New research presented today showed that people with type 1 diabetes who have been hospitalized for either diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or hyperglycemic comas have an increased risk of attempting suicide. Several studies have shown that type 1 diabetes (T1D) can increase the risk of suicide, and the authors of this study said ““Identification of the risk factors of suicide is very important for the development of effective prevention strategies for suicide. Healthcare professionals need to be aware of the higher suicidal risk in patients with ketoacidosis or hyperglycemic coma.”

Thursday September 19th

• According to a new study, dapagliflozin (brand name Farxiga), a drug that is already used to successfully treat type 2 diabetes, can also be used to treat pre-existing heart failure, even in patients without type 2 diabetes (T2D). Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted fast-track designation to development of Farxiga for patients with chronic kidney disease and heart failure.
• New research presented today showed that a child’s gluten intake during infancy is linked to increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes. According to the research, a child’s intake of gluten at age 18 months is associated with a 46 percent increased risk of developing T1D for each extra 10g of gluten consumed. A previous study suggested that a mother’s gluten intake during pregnancy led to increased risk of the child developing T1D, but this more recent study found no such link.
• A large meta-analysis of over 2 million single-child pregnancies found that women who conceive via in vitro fertilization (IVF) are more likely to develop gestational diabetes than those who conceive naturally. The analysis showed that women who conceive via assisted reproductive techniques had a 53 percent higher incidence of gestational diabetes.

Wednesday September 18th

• Novartis announced results from the Phase IV VERIFY study that showed dual-combination therapy using vildagliptin and metformin at diagnosis of type 2 diabetes led to better outcomes than treating with metformin alone. The study is the first of its kind to show that combination therapy in newly-diagnosed patients should be considered as the standard of care.
• A new genetic study showed that early signs of adulthood type 2 diabetes can be seen in children as young as 8 years old, decades before it is likely to be diagnosed. According to researchers, these metabolic features could be targeted to prevent young people from going on to develop T2D in the future.
• According to a new study presented today, professional drivers, manufacturing workers and cleaners have a threefold increased risk of  T2D compared with university teachers and physiotherapists. The differences are apparently linked, say the authors, to the prevalence of lifestyle risk factors. Previous studies have shown that diabetes risk increases with lower socioeconomic status, but little research has been done on occupation and risk of T2D.

Tuesday September 17th

• Medtronic announced approval in Europe for a new disposable, factory-calibrated continuous glucose monitor (CGM) requiring no fingersticks—the Envision Pro. The device is targeted for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and Medtronic aims to begin commercial release in the EU and Middle East this fall.
• The American Diabetes Association (ADA) published a study online that once again shows glycemic outcomes in adults with T1D are impacted more by Continuous Glucose Monitoring than by insulin delivery method. Previous data collected after 52 weeks showed similar results, which have been strengthened by three years of follow-up from the COMISAIR study.
• Novo Nordisk announced an exploratory analysis of the PIONEER trial program, showing oral semaglutide improves glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes across baseline blood glucose levels. Currently semaglutide (trade name Ozempic), a drug in the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1_ class, is only available in injectable form. The FDA is expected to rule on Novo’s oral version by Friday, Sep 20.
• CRISPR Therapeutics and ViaCyte presented positive in vitro data towards a potential immune-evasive cell replacement therapy for type 1 diabetes. The data demonstrate that the CyT49 pluripotent stem cell line, which is currently being used to generate islet progenitors for clinical trials, can be successfully edited with CRISPR.
• One Drop, a leading diabetes management platform, announced $40 million in Series B financing led by Bayer. Bayer has also entered a commercial licensing agreement to use One Drop’s platform in Bayer’s global bio-digital efforts in therapeutic areas such as oncology, cardiovascular disease and women’s health.
• A meta-analysis of studies presented at EASD of alcohol consumption in people with type 2 diabetes suggests some positive effects for moderate alcohol consumption among people with type 2 diabetes. The authors stated “Findings of this meta-analysis show a positive effect of alcohol on glucose and fat metabolism in people with type 2 diabetes. Larger studies are needed to further evaluate the effects of alcohol consumption on blood sugar management, especially in patients with type 2 diabetes.”
• According to new research presented as part of the European research project Hypo-RESOLVE (Hypoglycaemia—Redefining SOLutions for better liVEs), meal type and size are the key factors affecting carb-counting in type 1 diabetes. Researchers found that participants made more carb-counting errors for larger meals (i.e. lunch and dinner), and smaller errors for smaller meals (i.e. breakfast and snacks).

Monday September 16th

• Abbott and Sanofi announced a collaboration to integrate glucose sensing and insulin delivery technologies to further simplify how people with diabetes manage their condition. The two companies will partner to develop tools that combine FreeStyle Libre technology with Sanofi′s insulin dosing information for future smart pens, insulin titration apps and cloud software.
• Medtronic and Novo Nordisk announced a similar agreement to develop solutions to integrate insulin dosing data from future Novo Nordisk smart insulin pens into Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) devices from Medtronic, such as the Guardian™ Connect system.