Lilly to discontinue old school Glucagon emergency kit at end of 2022

WRITTEN BY: LALA JACKSON

2022-08-02

With several modern and ready-to-use glucagon options now available, Lilly will be discontinuing the old, red Glucagon Emergency Kit (GEK) in all markets.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU:

If you take insulin and do not have (unexpired!) glucagon, it’s time to get one of the new, ready-to-use nasal spray or auto-injectable glucagons.

Glucagon is another hormone that people with diabetes cannot regulate properly.

When ingested via nasal spray or injected in response to a severe low blood sugar, it quickly raises blood sugars to safe levels. It is a literal lifesaver.

Copay cards (for those with insurance) and patient assistance programs (for those without insurance) are available, most bringing your out-of-pocket cost down to $0 to $25.

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH THE OLD RED-CASE GLUCAGON?

The phase-out of the Glucagon Emergency Kit (GEK) will happen first in the U.S. on December 31, 2022.

In the U.S. market, several other glucagon options are now available including the nasal glucagon Baqsimi, the auto-inject devices Gvoke HypoPen and Zegalogue, and the Gvoke Kit prefilled glucagon syringe.

The GEK was being prescribed in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Costa Rica. To ensure each market has access to a glucagon option, the GEK will be phased out in Mexico and Costa Rica after Lilly’s nasal glucagon Baqsimi becomes available.

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I have had many glucagon kits over the past 40 years. Never used one (although I once had EMTs use glucagon on me) before it expired.

What is the experiation timeframe for the new kits? Do they have to be refrigerated?

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Darn, I like those scary needles and and that great jab. Why oh why would they ever take the pain and menacing look of those things away. I want more pain not less. Just saying.

Naw, just Skiddin !!!

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Are the non expired ones still good? I assume so because they were not mixed. I just got a new baqsimi as mine were expired. I think they were from a year before the pandemic.

Looks like the expiration timeframe of the Gvoke syringe is 1 year. I had a low last winter that just wouldn’t quit and so I asked my husband to give me a micro-dose (about 1/4 of the total dose). My BG went up nicely without skyrocketing! :grinning:

I’ve thrown away thousands of dollars with those kits never used one. I had 2 paramedic run ins in my life before cgm. Both times they mainlined dextrose. It’s faster than waiting on glucagon.

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