The new “slow-release” basal insulin it can only be administered subcutaneously once a week instead of once a dayno. For experts, not only does it not lead to an increased risk of hypoglycemia, but it actually improves glycemic control compared to daily insulin. And especially would make it possible to go from an average of 360 injections a year to 50.
This is confirmed by two different studies published on Jama e sul New England Journal of Medicine. The approval of the new molecule by the drug regulatory bodies is now awaited to make it available for marketing for patients with diabetes worldwide who are estimated over 500 million.
According to professor Roberto Trevisanendocrinology expert at the University of Milano-Bicocca and director of Diabetes at the ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII of Bergamo: “This new molecule has the potential to simplify the therapy of diabetes requiring insulin therapy, eliminating the discomfort of daily injections for patients and thus increasing adherence to insulin therapy”. Trevisan, the only Italian researcher who participated in the final draft of the study sul New England Journal of Medicine, he added that “A real epochal change is coming and a marked improvement in the quality of life of diabetic patients“.
The transition from daily injections to weekly administration represents a great advantage for type 2 diabetic patients, especially for those who are elderly and have to follow multiple daily therapies for different pathologies. THEFurthermore, the weekly option would reduce the burden on healthcare professionals dealing with diabetic patients who require insulinespecially those in long-term care facilities.
Basal insulins are long-acting insulins that are typically given once a day. In the two studies, the researchers compared, in nearly 600 people who had never been treated with insulin, the efficacy and safety of a new insulin administered weekly (icodec) with that of two different insulins already in use administered daily. Approximately six months after the start of treatment, the product when administered weekly showed a slight advantage in terms of efficacy measured as the ability to maintain good glycated hemoglobin levels. The weekly administration, however, according to Jama’s study, presented a small increase in the risk of hypoglycemia, while remaining the cases of excessive lowering of blood sugar very low (less than 1 episode per patient per year).
“Insulin icodec is a once-weekly basal insulin that can improve treatment acceptance and adherence, reducing the number of basal insulin injections from at least 365 to 52 per year“, write the researchers in the study. However, they point out, “When considering icodec insulin treatment in clinical practice, the small additional glycemic benefit and convenience of once-weekly dosing must be weighed against the small absolute risk of hypoglycemia“.
This innovation could lead to a significant improvement in the quality of life for millions of diabetic patients worldwide, simplifying therapy and increasing adherence to insulin treatment.