Inhaled insulin approved
Back on September 11, I posted about Exubera, the inhaled insulin product from Pfizer. Well yesterday, the drug won FDA approval, and the drug will probably be available by the summer, with sales estimates of around $2 billion by 2010. The drug has been approved for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, a matter that was still up in the air back in September.
As I mentioned in my previous coverage, Exubera will not be for those with impaired lung function or other breathing problems. Doctors are recommending that those that take the drug have their lung function checked every 6 to 12 months once they start using the inhaler. Questions over whether the inhaler is too cumbersome to be portable or to use in public, but reactions are mixed. Where the device lacks in visual appeal, it makes up for in convenience: it's easier to use an inhaler while doing something else (driving, for instance) than it is to whip out a needle and inject oneself. Those diabetes patients looking to get rid of their needles entirely will be disappointed — Exubera is a short-acting form of insulin. Those that rely on long-acting forms will still need their syringes.
[tags]inhaled insulin, insulin, diabetes, exubera[/tags]
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i have been a diebetic for 55 years since the age of 4 and I am now 59. I have always been insulin depentent. I have been lucky because i have no major health problems at this time. i hope that the new inhaler will help me and thousands of others .keep up the good work. thank you for we hope a long furture. gwen green
Comment by gwen green — February 9, 2006 @ 10:26 pm
[...] Of course this is a moot point for those at higher risk for respiratory issues (asthma sufferers, smokers, etc.) as they will be excluded from using Exubera entirely. Standard disclaimers also recommended that healthy patients have their lung function tested every six months just to be safe. [...]
Pingback by OnThePharm » Uncertainty over inhaled insulin — May 30, 2006 @ 12:51 pm