FAD Approves Lilly U-200

From the press release:

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Approves Humalog® 200 units/mL KwikPen®

Marks approval of first concentrated mealtime insulin analog in the U.S. and expands Lilly’s portfolio of medicines for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes

INDIANAPOLIS, May 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Humalog® 200 units/mL KwikPen® (insulin lispro 200 units/mL; U-200), a pre-filled pen containing a concentrated formulation of Lilly’s rapid-acting insulin Humalog® (insulin lispro 100 units/mL) to improve glycemic control in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced today. Humalog U-200 KwikPen marks the first FDA approval of a concentrated mealtime insulin analog.

Humalog U-200 KwikPen holds twice as many units of insulin (600 units vs. 300 units) as the U-100 formulation in the same three-milliliter cartridge. This offers patients a pen that lasts longer between pen changes, allowing for fewer changes every month.* Humalog U-200 KwikPen delivers the same dose in half the volume of Humalog U-100 KwikPen with no dose conversions required, and can be dialed in one-unit increments to a maximum of 60 units per injection.

more: https://investor.lilly.com/releaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=914999

One issue I see with higher concentration insulin in pens is that many of us get a bit of insulin flowing out of the puncture hole, esp when we don’t keep the needle under the skin long enough. Even when one holds the needle in for 10 seconds, there may be on occasion a bit of insulin leaking out. Higher concentration insulin means more units lost.