Hypoglycemia is a daily concern for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and is one of the most feared complications of diabetes treatment. This condition happens when the body has too much insulin. Typically, one would take a simple carbohydrate—be it juice, candy, or a glucose tablet—to bring the blood sugar back to normal range. Severe hypoglycemia means that another person has to help administer treatment. One of the treatments for severe hypoglycemia is glucagon administration, which raises blood sugar.

The FDA approved Zegalogue® (dasiglucagon) injection, for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia in children and adults with diabetes aged 6 and above. Its approval was based on results from three clinical trials, showing an average time to blood sugar recovery of 10 minutes following injection. It will be available in June, in both an auto injector and a pre-filled syringe.

“The more options for emergency glucagon use is important as every person living with type 1 diabetes needs to have glucagon on hand and teach their family/friends how to use it,” says Jeremy Pettus, M.D., a JDRF grantee and Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Diego.

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“There was a real clinical need for easier to use rescue glucagon,” says Jonathan Rosen, Ph.D., Associate Director, Research, at JDRF. “The newest generation of glucagon rescue therapies are much easier to use than the older kits, which required numerous steps to administer the drug. Since disorientation is a feature of severe hypoglycemia, it’s so important to have rescue glucagon administration be simple. This is exciting news for the T1D community.”

This is the fourth FDA approval of a glucagon treatment for severe hypoglycemia, providing people with choice that JDRF strongly advocates for. The first was GlucaGen® (glucagon injection), and, in recent years, the T1D community got more options: The approval of Baqsimi®, a nasal spray, was the first non-injectable treatment, and the GVOKE® line of products featured the first pre-mixed, pre-filled liquid glucagon formulation on the market.

JDRF will continue to fight for better management tools and technologies, across the world, until cures are found. To find out more about how we’re turning type 1 into type none here.