New Form of Insulin Can Be Inhaled Rather Than Injected

Scientists have described a new ultra-rapid acting mealtime insulin (AFREZZA™) that is orally inhaled for absorption via the lung. Because the insulin is absorbed so rapidly, AFREZZA’s profile closely mimics the normal early insulin response seen in healthy individuals. AFREZZA is awaiting approval by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This presentation took place at the 239th American Chemical Society National Meeting, being held in San Francisco, California, USA March 21-25.

Andrea Leone-Bay, Ph.D. and colleagues at MannKind Corporation said that the new insulin product, uses the Technosphere® technology, a delivery technology that is applicable to a wide variety of other drugs that are currently injected. Like insulin, these medications are proteins that would be digested and destroyed in the stomach if taken by mouth.

One such product, MKC-180, is a Technosphere® formulation of a natural hormone that controls appetite and is under investigation as a therapy for obesity using pulmonary delivery. “In nonclinical studies remarkable reductions in food intake have been observed,” Leone-Bay said. MannKind is also evaluating Technosphere® technology with drugs that treat pain and osteoporosis.