Ok folks here’s another type of Insulin in the works. Someone posted a link to the article over at the children with diabetes forum. I emailed the company to try and get some additional info and waiting back for a response but this sounds almost unrealistic. Anyway I guess you could call it Super Duper Smart Insulin.
Thanks…! We’ll see if it pans out. At this point after 35 years of battling I’d be happy with Smart Insulin as even self regulating for a 24hr time period would be fantastic compared to what we have now. FWIW anyone with type 1 diabetes can no way get by on two shots a day. I was on humulin NPH only for most of my diabetic life and due to my lack of diabetes management knowledge I was on a bad rollercoaster for years. In 99 I started taking 4 MDI on a sliding scale which is far better then what I was doing but from day to day is still very challeging. Now on any giving day I can easily take 8 to 10 shots depending on how much I eat and how the levels are running. One shot every 3 months would be Freedom!
Encouraging research. I have my heart set on Smart Insulin. Who needs an artificial pancreas (which I wouldn’t trust) when Smart Insulin is a better option?
Just published today!
With animal studies trying out a single injection of a large assembly of insulin molecules (supramolecule insulin assembly) yielding promising results, the traditional method of treating Type I diabetes with multiple injections of insulin every day to maintain the normal glucose level can possibly be done away with. One injection of 200 microgram supramolecule was able to control and sustain the release of insulin in animals for a prolonged period of 120-140 days. The results of the study have been published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences —“Supramolecular insulin assembly II for a sustained treatment of type I diabetes mellitus,” by Sarika Gupta et al., of the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi. The insulin supramolecular assembly was produced by altering the way the insulin protein folds. A slight misfolding of the protein attracted other insulin molecules to form a supramolecular assembly. The supramolecule, which is in itself an inert material, releases biologically active insulin on a sustained basis at a basal level (physiological range). Animal studies showed that sustained release of insulin through a novel drug delivery mechanism was able to maintain tight glycemic control both after a meal as well as during prolonged periods (12 to 18 hours) of starvation. Early morning low blood glucose level (hypoglycemia) episodes after a long gap between food intakes are a major problem with the traditional insulin therapy.
Unpublished data from studies on animals with Type II diabetes showed that the supramolecule was able to maintain normal glucose level for 30 days when higher doses were used. In India, there are more Type II than Type I diabetic patients who are on insulin. Human clinical trials, which will also include Type II patients, are set to begin next year. Initially, human trials are to start with once-a-week injection and will gradually switch to one shot in four weeks. Unlike in the case of Type I, maintaining tight glycemic control in Type II patients will be quite challenging. It often turned out that drugs producing excellent outcomes in animal studies are not so successful in humans. How exactly supramolecule acts on the humans remains to be seen. There is overwhelming scientific evidence of the number of new diabetic patients in India rising year by year. While new treatment methods will help those with the disease, making prevention a priority is the only way to reverse the trend. Healthy food habits and regular exercise can surely delay the onset of the disease; they can also go a long way in preventing it.
Up until 4 years ago I only gave one dose of Lantis in the morning. I now have been alot more “not” on the move and switched to a pump. I would love only one injection a day again.
Exciting news!
Lantus is not self regulating though. It releases in 24 hour period but does not control meals or stress. This on the other hand if this works will handle all of everything. Though not a cure we would be nearly free with using only a few injections per year. I don’t know whether this is realistically possible though I hope to god it is. As I’ve stated over the last few years I felt Smart Insulin was the best shot we as a community have at getting some relief and now with this on the horizon as well it makes me more confident that in some form or another a self regulating insulin will likely be a reality in the future. Of course it isn’t over till the fat lady sings and many promising looking therapies over the years either vanished or still have lots of hurdles to get to the people so I will still keep my guard up. Hopefully a year from now will at least reveal where all this is going!
This sounds amazing i hope it works, and that it ends up a treatment for type one as well.Over the years it seems like most developments for medications have only been able to be used for type 2 diabetes. Other than things like the pump that is.I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
I agree with this. If an artificial pancreas were to fail, then what?
This doesn’t seem like it’d have any real way to fail… except maybe if the body’s immune system were to fight it off, but i don’t see that happeneing very much at all…
I like the idea of smart insulin. I could live with taking one shot every day or every week. Every 3 months would be amazing.
To me the AP seems more to be in the best interest of the manufacturer then the patient. It would be a money making machine and still leave the patient with the inconvenience of wearing a machine 24/7 plus additional expenses. I won’t even take into account if it could fault. Doesn’t appeal to me one bit. In fact I’d rather stay with what I’m doing. If it helps some people great but I’m waiting for something much better and obviously a self regulating insulin would be regardless of one inject a day, week or month…
This is awesome news! Who are the manufacturers of this supermolecule?
Sounds like that “Smart Insulin” that someone has been working on for years…haven’t heard anything lately about it…maybe this is it.
pretty amazing. I dont hold my breath for these things as they just seem to good to be true. Hopefully it all pans out and Im on 1 shot per quarter in a few years.
Allie,
Right now its not being manufactured by anyone. From my understanding it was licenced to a company in CT called Extended Delivery Pharmaceuticals who will supposedly be starting human trials sometime next year. I emailed EDP and their CEO got back with me via email bascially expressing he is not at liberty to discuss their development plan nor the details of the Insulin at this time. I’ve searched the net high and low for more info on this but all the latest writings are more or less the same. To me it sounds like a long term basal insulin but they are also suggesting it can curb sugar levels after meals without inducing hypoglycemia which means its technically glucose responsive like Smart Insulin only it would last much longer. Techincally to cover even a months worth that would be a huge dosage so certainly some questions need to be answered. I know you’ve been through some ■■■■ over the last two years with your diabetes and your passionate like me for relief from this maddness. Hang in there!
^ Thats the mentality of most diabetics as we’ve been let down so much with any real hope with either a superior treatment or an outright cure that how can we believe something that would save us grief, money and allow us to live a normal quality of life could actually become a reality for us? I Am as a frustrated as the next guy but I gotta believe something better will eventually happen whether its this or something else. The sooner the better!
Agreed with all of your post. I know we have to keep our hope up no matter what. Ive just become massively skeptical over the years just as you pointed out. If this comes to fruition, life would change for us all. I can only hope that it does.