At the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco on 14th January 2026, Immunocore outlined 2026 strategic priorities that extend its ImmTAX TCR-bispecific platform beyond oncology and infectious disease into autoimmune conditions, including type 1 diabetes (T1D). The company plans to dose the first patient in a Phase I trial of IMC S118AI, an ImmTAAI (Immune mobilising monoclonal TCRs Against AutoImmune disease) candidate targeting T1D, in the first half of 2026, with a second autoimmune asset, IMC U120AI for inflammatory dermatology, expected to enter the clinic in the second half of the year. This announcement marks Immunocore’s formal move into disease-modifying T1D immunotherapy and positions its TCR-based approach as a potential future competitor to existing and emerging immune intervention strategies.
T1D is a chronic, immune-mediated disease characterised by T cell–driven destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells, leading to absolute insulin deficiency and lifelong dependence on exogenous insulin. The disease typically presents in childhood or adolescence but can occur at any age, and is associated with acute complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis and long-term microvascular and macrovascular sequelae if glycemic control is suboptimal. Despite advances in insulin formulations and delivery technologies, T1D remains associated with substantial treatment burden, including frequent glucose monitoring, carbohydrate counting, and real-time dose adjustment, as well as heightened risk of hypoglycemia and glycemic variability.
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Current T1D management is dominated by intensive insulin therapy delivered via multiple daily injections or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion, increasingly supported by continuous glucose monitoring and hybrid closed loop pump systems that automate aspects of insulin dosing. Adjunctive pharmacologic options remain limited; only a small number of agents, such as SGLT inhibitors, have been explored, with safety concerns constraining widespread use. Disease-modifying therapies are at an earlier stage: teplizumab, an anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody, is approved in the US to delay progression from stage 2 to clinical T1D, and was recently authorised in the EU, but its use is confined to a defined pre-symptomatic population identified by autoantibody screening rather than the broader established T1D population.
Immunocore’s IMC S118AI belongs to the ImmTAAI class, a set of bispecific TCR-based molecules designed to tether to tissue-specific antigens and deliver localised PD-1 agonism to suppress pathogenic T cells at the site of disease. In its JPM 2026 announcement, the company framed IMC S118AI as its lead autoimmune asset, with first-in-human dosing in T1D expected in 2026 and a second ImmTAAI, IMC U120AI (CD1a x PD1), slated for clinical entry in atopic dermatitis in the second half of 2026. By explicitly placing autoimmune diseases alongside melanoma and infectious diseases as one of three strategic pillars for 2026, Immunocore signalled its intent to build a multi-indication ImmTAAI franchise and to test whether its TCR redirected, PD-1 agonist approach can induce durable immune tolerance in organ-specific autoimmunity such as T1D.
Over the longer term, successful development of IMC S118AI would have meaningful implications for the T1D landscape, potentially shifting the paradigm from glucose-centric control to targeted immune modulation aimed at preserving or stabilising beta cell function. If early safety and pharmacodynamic data support tissue-specific immunomodulation without broad immunosuppression, ImmTAAI-based approaches could be positioned either in early-stage or newly diagnosed T1D, in combination with existing insulin and technology-based interventions, or even in at-risk populations alongside agents such as teplizumab.
However, Immunocore will face significant clinical and commercial challenges, including the need to define optimal patient selection, timing relative to disease stage, and differentiation versus other emerging tolerogenic or cell-based therapies; near-term investor focus is likely to remain on proof of mechanism signals and safety rather than on immediate competitive disruption of the T1D market.
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