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Orlando boy among first in the world to receive life-changing type 1 diabetes drug

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Updated  September 28, 2023 7:28am EDT
Orlando
FOX 35 Orlando

Boy among first to get life-changing drug

Orlando, Florida, is on the map when it comes to a new drug giving hope to people with type 1 diabetes. FOX 35’s Amy Kaufeldt spoke to Anderson Ata, a young patient who is among the first in the world to receive Tzield.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Orlando is on the map when it comes to a new drug giving hope to people with type 1 diabetes. FOX 35’s Amy Kaufeldt spoke to one young patient who is among the first in the world to receive the drug. 

Anderson Ata,10, is living his best life. Going to school, playing basketball, and having fun. You’d never know he was extremely sick earlier this year. 

His parents, who are both dentists in Orlando, knew something was wrong back on New Year’s Eve. Anderson came to them cold and shaking. 

Anderson’s father, Dr. Joseph Ata, said the family found their way to Dr. Konda Reddy of AdventHealth. 

Dr. Reddy is the first doctor in Orlando to administer Tzield, a new type 1 diabetes drug. The genius of it is it can delay the onset of symptoms for years. 

"This monoclonal antibody therapy is approved for stage one and stage two of the disease, that's why the early diagnosis is very important," Dr. Reddy said. 

Patients are given a series of injections over 14 days, and then they’re done. Anderson says his life hasn’t changed that much since getting the drug, other than not eating much candy, which he says his parents didn’t allow anyway, "because they’re dentists," he said with a laugh.

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His dad says the real blessing is that he doesn’t really know what it’s like to have type 1 diabetes because of this revolutionary new drug. 

Anderson is a trailblazer for Tzield. He’s the first person in Orlando and only seventh in the world to receive it. 

When asked how he feels about being first, his answer is wise.

"Good? Almost? Well not that good because that means a lot of people are still not getting the drug," Anderson said. That’s something the Ata family hopes changes soon. 

In the meantime, Dr. Ata says they’re grateful for the gift of time it’s given Anderson.

"Even if we only get two years, even if we only get three years, even if we get one year, it will have been worth it, because just this past six months of him really being able to full enjoy life has been a treasure," Dr. Ata said.