New form of insulin can be inhaled rather than injected

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: March 23, 2010, 12:05 p.m., Eastern Time

Scientists today 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 here this week.

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.

Leone-Bay said AFREZZA™ controls glucose as well as current state-of-the-art treatments, poses a lower risk of hypoglycemia than that typically associated with mealtime insulin therapy and leads to less weight gain compared to other insulin treatments,” according to Leone-Bay. “Additionally, and importantly, AFREZZA™ provides the unique benefit of a smal, discreet, and easier-to-use inhalation device.”

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