Diabetes - inhaled insulin approved

[Posted: Mon 30/01/2006 - www.irishhealth.com]

The first form of insulin that can be inhaled rather than injected, has been approved by the European Commission.

Exubera will be used to treat adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

The drug is a fast acting, dry powder formulation of human insulin. It is inhaled into the lungs via the mouth before meals using a hand-held device that does not require batteries or electricity. The device is about the size of a carrying case for eye glasses.

The efficacy and safety profile of Exubera was studied in over 2,500 adults with diabetes, over a 20 month period.

"This is really good news for physicians and patients. It is truly a clinical and scientific milestone - being able to give insulin without needles. Physicians face many challenges with insulin therapy due to patients' reluctance to take injections, which up until now, was the only way to take insulin", said Professor Chantal Mathieu, professor of endocrinology at the University of Leuven, Belgium.

However it is understood that the drug will not replace all injections - some patients may still have to take insulin via injection.

It has not yet been confirmed when the drug will be available in Ireland. However a spokesperson for Pfizer, which will manufacture the drug in collaboration with Nektar Therapeutics, stated that it will be available here 'shortly'.

Anonymous   Posted: 19/02/2006 08:13

I thnk that the media\'s promise of inhaled insulin being a super drug is misplaced. The known and unknown potential risks of using Exubera seem to make folks who use it guinea pigs, since the data appears to be for a relatively short period. Will those using inhaled insulin suffer respiratory problems in 5, 10, or 20 years related to using it? The data seems inconclusive on this point. Also, as some physicians have highlighted right after the FDA approved the drug, taking Exubera does not mean that diabetics would suddenly be free of injections. Folks taking Lantus, NPH, and simliar long-acting insulins, they note, would still have to keep up their regular injections of the drug. Exubera is a short-acting insulin, not one that hangs in the background providing a basal rate of delivery 24/7. Nor does Exubera mean that folks will have to stop poking their fingers regularly during the day to check their blood sugars. That would be foolish and risky. What the European Commission and FDA\'s approval do suggest, howoever, is that Pfizer and Nektar Therapeutics (the company that made the inhaler delivery system for Exubera), stand to profit enormously from the sale of a drug that some predict will cost up to 3 times as much as regular injectable insulin. That is a win for the drugmakers, but patients and their insurance companies amy ultimately bear the increased costs associated with the drug. It still seems far too early to tell whether diabetics, their health care professionals, and their insurance companies will rush to support Exubera usage for their patients.

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