Insulin Degludec rejected for use within NHS Scotland

A new form of insulin treatment for people with diabetes has been turned down for NHS use in Scotland due to cost issues.
Tresiba (Insulin Degludec) is an ultra-long-acting new-generation insulin that has duration of action beyond 42 hours, meaning patients can adjust their time of injectio, when needed.
Developed by Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk, it is designed for treatment of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in adults.
The new once-daily insulin was approved by the European Commission in January following positive results from clinical trials evaluating its safety and efficacy against other long-acting insulin analogues (insulin glargine and insulin detemir ).
However, earlier this month the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) decided against recommending Tresiba for use within NHS Scotland, citing the high cost of the drug for its decision.
It said that despite its benefits, manufacturer Novo Nordisk “did not present a sufficiently robust economic analysis to gain acceptance”.
The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) is yet to make a decision on the use of Tresiba in England and Wales.