Anyone with type one diabetes knows just how time consuming the daily routine is--multiple injections are the norm for anyone who wants to stay in good blood sugar control. Now a brand new insulin analog holds the promise of being a once-a-day regimen.
Based on the insulin Glargine and called Basalog, it's been launched in India by Biocon, a biotechnology firm. The product, meant to replace other forms of insulin which don't keep acting for a full 24 hours, will be priced 40 percent less than similar injectables, according to The Hindu.
With the number of diabetics in the world expected to double by 2020, there will be a huge market for the product, Biocon chairman and managing director Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said in The Hindu. She called it "an advanced diabetic treatment which is effective for 24 hours and can be used by those suffering from both type one and type two diabetes," according to DNA India.
The number of diabetics in the world is now 200 to 230 million, Shaw was quoted as saying in The Hindu. That figure will spiral, and India will have many more diabetics, Shaw predicts. "India alone may have 40 million diabetics and one out of every five diabetics in the world is likely to be of Indian origin by then," Shaw said in an interview.
Most insulins take time to act, reach a peak level and then taper off, according to DNA India. But Basalog would act at a constant level for a full 24 hours.
It also would be effective in the control of HbA1c, which measures a person's blood sugar control for the previous three months. In non-diabetics, this measurement ranges from 4 to 6 percent, but in those with diabetes, anything under 7 percent is considered being in good control. Each reduction of 1 percent in the HbA1c results in a 20 percent reduction in mortality, according to DNA India.
Basalog is available in India now but don't expect to see it in the U.S. anytime soon. According to The Hindu, Shaw said it won't be sold in the U.S. until 2014, after the expiration of current patents here. The drug could be launched in just two years in other major markets, according to DNA India.
"We see a large potential for the drug with a revenue expectation of 500 million U.S. dollars in less than a 10 year period," Shaw said, as reported in DNA India.
It's certainly a treatment well worth waiting for, and the fact that it's less costly than other forms of insulin makes it even more attractive.
