Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Roche Holding AG’s arthritis and lymphoma medicine Rituxan cut the need for insulin treatment among patients with type 1 diabetes after a year, a study found.

Four doses of Rituxan partly maintained the functioning of the beta cells that produce insulin in recently-diagnosed patients, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine found. The drug also cut levels of blood sugar and B lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that diabetics may have in excess.

The study shows that a therapy that targets B lymphocytes may help the functioning of the beta cells that make and release insulin, a hormone that controls the level of sugar in the blood. The study also found that insulin levels began to decline again after the initial improvement and other compounds that target B cells should be tested against the condition. Rituxan, also known as rituximab, is in the second of three phases of clinical testing needed for regulatory approval as a treatment for the condition.

“It is unlikely that treatment with rituximab as administered in this study would be optimal,” researchers led by Mark Pescovitz at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis said in the study.

Developed by Genentech Inc., which Roche fully acquired this year, Rituxan is approved for use in both non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis. The drug in February won European regulatory backing as a leukemia treatment. Rituxan generated 1.51 billion Swiss francs ($1.5 billion) in sales during the third quarter.

While there were more adverse events among patients given their first dose of Rituxan compared with those given a placebo, the reactions appeared to be “minimal,” the study found.

Type 1 diabetes affects 5 percent to 10 percent of the 23.6 million people with the disease in the U.S, according to the American Diabetes Association.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dermot Doherty in Geneva at ddoherty9@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 25, 2009 17:00 EST