Diabetes gum from Generex

Generex, the company behind the oral insulin expected to be released in Ecuador later this year, have added another pioneering product to their pharmaceutical pipeline. Generex created a form of insulin that reaches the bloodstream by crossing the buccal membrane (via a novel spray system), and they are now working on reducing the side-affects of the popular tablet metformin. Their solution: a metformin chewing-gum.
In theory, the chewable metformin will also enter the body through the buccal cavity, avoiding any gastrointestinal complications that affect approximately 30% of metformin users. These unpleasant side-effects include nausea and diarrhoea.
Metformin, which commands a massive market in the USA, is used for both diabetes sufferers and pre-diabetics seriously at risk of developing the disease. Early clinical trials have indicated the metformin gum has a clinically significant effect and experts are optimistic that it may be a solution. However, further clinical trials are a necessity before any conclusion may be drawn.
Generex is one of a crop of companies who are at the cutting-edge of research into novel treatments of diabetes. The ‘holy grail’ remains oral insulin and gaining approval for it in Western markets.