Leap forward in treatment

Pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk says it has developed the first co-formulation of a short-acting and truly long-acting insulin treatment for people with type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or it cannot respond adequately to the insulin it does produce.

The company says the treatment provides an even profile of basal insulin over 24 hours and mealtime insulin in a single injection delivered from one pen device. This co-formulation may help people with type 2 diabetes to achieve their glucose targets with a lower risk of hypoglycaemia, flexible dose times and fewer injections.

The goal of insulin therapy is to mimic the body’s natural insulin secretion, but this has proved to be challenging.

In a healthy individual, the pancreas produces a small, but variable amount of insulin throughout the day, referred to as “basal” insulin secretion.

After meals, when glucose levels are very high, there is a short surge of insulin production, which peaks at about 45-60 minutes, followed by a return to baseline within two to three hours.

In people with type 2 diabetes, low levels of insulin mean that not only will blood glucose increase dramatically after meals, it also remains high between meals.

“In contrast to currently available premixed insulins, which are a combination of a short-acting insulin and the same insulin modified to provide an intermediate-acting component, this new co-formulation improves fasting and mealtime glucose control and reduces the risk of hypoglycaemia.” – Citizen reporter