Novo Nordisk insulin pens get FDA approval

Diabetes patients in America will soon have access to a new range of prefilled insulin pens from Novo Nordisk after the devices were approved by the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The NovoLog FlexTouch and Levemir FlexTouch are based on the drugmaker’s new prefilled insulin delivery system, FlexTouch.
When a dose is dialled with traditional prefilled pens, the push button extends, which at larger doses can present challenges for the patient. The unique dosing mechanism of FlexTouch ensures the push-button does not extend at any dose and allows insulin to be administered by pressing a low dose force button.
NovoLog FlexTouch is a prefilled insulin pen containing 300 units of insulin aspart, while the Levemir FlexTouch prefilled insulin pen comes with 300 units of insulin detemir. Both pens dose in one unit increments, from one to 80 units and are compatible with both NovoFine and the latest NovoTwist needles.
FlexTouch is currently available in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark and Japa, and Novo Nordisk says it plans to roll out the technology across the United States within the next year.
“Novo Nordisk is committed to continuously introducing new solutions that can improve the lives of people with diabetes,” said Mads Krogsgaard Thomse, the company’s executive vice president and chief scientific officer.
“This approval marks another advancement in insulin delivery and an important milestone for Novo Nordisk.”
The global healthcare company last week announced its financial results for the first nine months of 2013. Total sales for the first three quarters of the year rose by 13% to 61.9bn Danish krone (roughly £7bn), helped by strong sales of Victoza (liraglutide), Novo’s once-daily GLP-1 analogue, which grew 28% to 8.40bn Danish krone (about £950m) for the period.
Operating profit for the company increased by 17% to 24.1bn Danish krone (about £2.73bn).