icon-nav-help
Need Help

Submit your question to our team of health care professionals.

icon-nav-current-questions
Current Question

See what's on the mind of the community right now.

icon-conf-speakers-at-a-glance
Meet the Team

Learn more about our world-renowned team.

icon-nav-archives
CWD Answers Archives

Review the entire archive according to the date it was posted.

CWD_Answers_Icon
November 25, 2002

Inhaled Insulin

advertisement
Question from Hazlet, New Jersey, USA:

Is inhaled insulin going to be a reality anytime soon? Will it take the place of insulin injections? Will insulin ever be available in a pill form?

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

My own guess is that although inhaled insulin clearly works, there are still some concerns about it biological efficiency and whether it can be dosed with the precision needed for young people with type�1 diabetes. So far as I know this system has yet been approved by the FDA. A more likely approach may come from Oralin. This seems to be a conjugated insulin that is absorbed from the mucosa of the mouth. The nebuliser is quite small rather like an asthma device, but again the insulin absorption is only about 20% of that from injection, which will inevitably affect the price. Again FDA approval has not yet been obtained although clinical trials seem to have been completed.

DOB