The researchers of UiT The Arctic University of Norway in collaboration with the University of Sydney, they have found a new way to deliver insulin to the body. The drug, which can be taken orally, has already been tested on baboons, where it was found to lower blood sugar levels without causing hypoglycemia. The new insulin is ready to be tested on humans in 2025. If all goes well, diabetics can face an easier life without injections.
The new insulin can be consumed by taking one capsule. Inside there are tiny nano-carriers in which the insulin is encapsulated. The particles are 1/10,000 the width of a human hair and are so small that you can’t see them even with a normal microscope.
“This way of taking insulin is more precise because it quickly delivers insulin to the areas of the body that need it most. When you take insulin with a syringe, it spreads throughout your body where it can cause unwanted side effects“, explains Professor Peter McCourt of the Arctic University of UiT Norway. He is one of the researchers behind the study.
“We created a coating to protect insulin from degradation by stomach acids and digestive enzymes on its way through the digestive system, keeping it safe until it reaches its destination, the liver“says McCourt, a liver biologist.
The coating is then broken down in the liver by enzymes that are only active when blood sugar levels are high, releasing insulin where it can then work in the liver, muscles and fat to remove sugar from the blood.
“This means that when blood sugar is high, there is a rapid release of insulin, and more importantly, when blood sugar is low, no insulin is released” say the researchers.
Oral insulin has been tested on roundworms, mice and rats. And finally, the medicine was tested on baboons. What remains now is to test the new method on humans. Human trials will begin in 2025. Researchers hope that the new medicine can be ready for everyone to use within 2-3 years.
The research was published on Nature Nanotechnology.
Read the full text of the article:
Oral nanotherapeutic formulation of insulin with reduced episodes of hypoglycaemia.
Nicholas J. Hunt, Glen P. Lockwood, Scott J. Heffernan, Jarryd Daymond, Meng Ngu, Ramesh K. Narayanan, Lara J. Westwood, Biswaranjan Mohanty, Lars Esser, Charlotte C. Williams, Zdenka Kuncic, Peter AG McCourt, David G. The Tailor, Victoria C. Cogger.
Nature Nanotechnology, 2024; DOI: 10.1038/s41565-023-01565-2
Source: UiT The Arctic University of Norway