With Sustained Type 2 Diabetes Reversal, Management is Becoming a Thing of the Past

Published on 
August 13, 2024
February 7, 2018
Sami Inkinen
Sami Inkinen
Sami Inkinen
Ask Theresa: An advice column

We started Virta with the mission to reverse type 2 diabetes in 100 million people by 2025. In early 2017 we published groundbreaking results from our clinical trial that showed we can systematically reverse type 2 diabetes in just 10 weeks. The appropriate push back from academics and clinicians was on durability: they wondered, can the results be sustained to one year and beyond?

Today we have the answer. Our one year diabetes reversal outcomes from our ongoing (now 2.5 years in length) clinical trial were just published in Diabetes Therapy, and demonstrated that results not only last, they actually improve at one year. I believe this marks the end of an era and provides much needed hope to the hundreds of millions of people globally living with type 2 diabetes today.

What are the clinically-proven results of the Virta Treatment at one year?

  • 60% of patients reversed type 2 diabetes
  • 94% of patients either reduced insulin usage or removed it altogether
  • 83% of patients remained active in the trial
  • Substantial and sustained improvements in other co-morbidities, including blood pressure, inflammation, cardiovascular markers, insulin resistance and weight loss

I couldn’t be more excited about the results and what this means to millions of people living with type 2 diabetes. This includes our patients like Lori, Willie, and Wilma, who each have unique, inspiring stories to tell on the life-changing experience of making type 2 diabetes a thing of the past.

We’ve also analyzed the cost savings among our clinical trial patients and estimate that the Virta Treatment delivers employer savings of nearly $10,000 in the first 24 months for each person living with type 2 diabetes.* What this means is that the Virta Treatment not only saves lives, but also saves tax payers, employers, health plans and individuals a lot of money in the process.

The skeptics will still ask: but you must have cherry picked your patients—can this scale across other populations? So far, the answer is yes. The Virta Treatment is now available in all 50 states, and we’ve treated thousands of patients across states, health plans and employers.

We know we have a long way to go before we reach our goal of reversing type 2 diabetes in 100 million people. In the meantime, I think we can safely say goodbye to managing type 2 diabetes, and hello to reversing it.

On behalf of the entire Virta team,

Sami Inkinen
CEO & Co-Founder

* These findings align with the published reduction in diabetes medication usage from our 70 day (McKenzie et al. 2017) and 1 year (Hallberg et al. 2018) manuscripts.

Dr. Sarah Hallberg on the one-year results of the Virta Treatment

This blog is intended for informational purposes only and is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or any advice relating to your health. View full disclaimer

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