Annual Update on Non-Invasive Insulin Delivery Technologies

Source: Drug Delivery Technology Magazine, March 2008

By: Avani Amin, MPharm, PhD; Tejal Shah, MPharm; Jagruti Patel, MPharm, PhD; and Anuradha Gajjar, MPharm, PhD

The enormous progress in delivery technologies for insulin is likely to change the therapy regimen of patients suffering from insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The market is flooded with parenteral devices like the jects, pumps, and pens. However, the alternate routes for the delivery of insulin have also undergone a major breakthrough, and inhaled insulin, oral insulin pills and sprays, insulin patches, and nanoparticles have also hit the scene. Although the first approved inhaled insulin (Exubera) has been abandoned, other inhaled insulins are forging ahead to give it a try. Oral insulin also sees a great opportunity, and Biocon’s Insugen has already been licensed for marketing in the US and China. Transdermal insulin made its presence felt with many products being developed on the basis of iontophoresis, sonophoresis, and microneedle technologies. This review presents an update on the progress of the non-invasive delivery technologies for insulin since last year’s update featured in the March 2007 issue of this publication.

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