Oral insulin capsule suitable for type one diabetics
Injecting insulin could become a thing of the past, as the development of oral insulin reaches new heights. Diabetology, a UK situated clinical research and development company, have stated that early evidence suggests their oral insulin capsules ‘Capsulin’, could be suitable for Type 1 Diabetics.
Insulin is the primary regulator of blood glucose concentration. Insulin is created by Beta islet cells in the pancreas and in a non-diabetic person is secreted in response to elevated blood glucose levels. The body needs insulin to function, and many diabetics have to inject insulin on a daily basis.
Early evidence provided by Diabetology indicates that their specially prepared insulin, edible in capsule form, has measurable effects on the insulin concentrations of diabetes sufferers who usually inject. The drug is administered using Diabetology’s in-licensed drug delivery technology called Axcess. The trial involving eight patients with Type 1, carried out at Bradford Teaching Hospital, established the absorbability of capsulin.
Taking oral insulin has many advantages. It closely replicates the natural secretion pathway of insulin from the pancreas to the liver. Due to the directness of this route, many of the major insulin-related side effects that diabetics suffer from could possibly be avoided.
The significance of this breakthrough is enormous. The availability of oral insulin is perceived as something of a ‘holy grail’ by both insulin-injecting diabetics, and pharmaceutical companies alike. For the first time in the UK, Capsulin looks like cracking what could become an enormous market. With up to 700,000 people injecting insulin daily in the UK, the implications for both diabetics and the pharmaceutical industry are phenomenal.
Biocon in India, Nobex in the United States, Generex in South America, and numerous other companies throughout the world are at various stages of putting oral insulin through clinical trials. The next stage for diabetology is to study and analyse the full clinical potential of Capsulin use for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics.
