Exubera off the market! (inhalor)

[viranth]

Pfizer is closing down the factory they built for Exubera, the insulin you could inhale. This is due to apparant lack of interest.

It was supposedly harder to use and more expensive, than regular injecting insulin.

Might be old news, but just saw this.

[SueM]

Pfizer is closing down the factory they built for Exubera, the insulin you could inhale. This is due to apparant lack of interest.

It was supposedly harder to use and more expensive, than regular injecting insulin.

Might be old news, but just saw this.

Yep very old news :D

[ant hill]

Gee, this is a real shame as we were to have injectless insulin. :( So what next in the new technology towards this disease. :bawling:

[UpNorth]

Well, with such a bulky thingy to bring around, and having to change things regularly and not knowing what the long term effects of inhaling insulin is, i am not surprised at all... It's simply more convenient with a pen and injecting insulin is "old and well tried" :T

[NoraWI]

What is new is an oral spray insulin that is absorbed by the lining in the mouth (NOT swallowed). It is already being marketed in Ecuador and is being tested in various other countries. You can read about it here:

Diabetes In Control - Oral Insulin Spray (Oral-lyn) for Type 1 and 2 Diabetes in Ecuador (http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2757)

[UpNorth]

What is new is an oral spray insulin that is absorbed by the lining in the mouth (NOT swallowed). It is already being marketed in Ecuador and is being tested in various other countries. You can read about it here:

Diabetes In Control - Oral Insulin Spray (Oral-lyn) for Type 1 and 2 Diabetes in Ecuador (http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2757)

Oh gosh, that sounds discusting!:puke: I can barely handle the smell of insulin when priming my pens, then just imagine having to get it into your mouth:eek:

[Jill-O]

It's just so painless to take the shots, the dosing is precise, and the onset timing very predictable. I thought the "smart insulin" someone posted a link about recently was very interesting but as far as I'm concerned, the delivery of insulin is just fine by me with a shot.

[viranth]

It's not that painless.

I get yellow bruises on the places I've set insulin. Not all the places, but I can usually count all of my shots at the end of the day.

Maybe it'll pass once I'm more hardened?

Some places hurt more than other's though, some I don't even feel anything, others hurt like ****.

[Jill-O]

I've only been taking insulin since April 2007, but now I take four shots a day. Maybe a couple times a week, one stings a tiny bit but that's all. The injections hurt (at least me) 1/100th as much as the finger pricks for testing do.

[owlyn]

It's not that painless.

I get yellow bruises on the places I've set insulin. Not all the places, but I can usually count all of my shots at the end of the day.

Maybe it'll pass once I'm more hardened?

Some places hurt more than other's though, some I don't even feel anything, others hurt like ****.


What guage needles are you using? You shouldn't be bruising, at least not often. I take between 6-8 shots a day (or so), and practically never bruise.

[Eddy]

For me:

Hospital (place of DX) originally prescribed needles that were 12.7 mm long and something like 28-gauge. Those things hurt and left serious bruises.

I switched to 31-gauge 8 mm needles. MUCH better!

[cheryl]

Being diabetic for almost 17 years, I wish they would spend their money either developing better insulin, improving the pumps....or finding some links to cures, sorry....I am done worrying about if someone finds something particulary a little painful, it's more of a pain to deal with this..........then the shots or injections or the pens...don't mean to be mean, but one day I think most would feel like me....find even better ways to manage this disease or cure it, not just easier to give the medication....pointless, and money down the drain....

Cheryl

[Eddy]

Being diabetic for almost 17 years, I wish they would spend their money either developing better insulin, improving the pumps....or finding some links to cures, sorry....I am done worrying about if someone finds something particulary a little painful, it's more of a pain to deal with this


Well said.

You know, it's easy to tell who's diabetic or not. I find that non-diabetics (and recently-DXed) believe shots to be the worst part. Ehhhh.... the shots are nothing compared to DKA, hypos, or even "regular" high/low swings.

As long as you launched the "wish list": I wish one could obtain more dilute insulin. I'd like better dosing granularity. A vial of U-100 also goes a looong way; I always end up discarding a fair amount after it loses strength at 2.5 months. :(

[viranth]

I'm using 6mm needles. Sometimes I really have to poke hard to even get them through my skin, so I wonder if some of these needles are broken or something.

Not that it's the big issue though, I would rather have better insulin, "smarter" insulin. I've used 40mm needles before, so this is something I'll just have to get used to.

[Eddy]

I'm using 6mm needles. Sometimes I really have to poke hard to even get them through my skin, so I wonder if some of these needles are broken or something.


Bruises with the little guys? Wow.

What technique? I pinch up, puncture, relax the fold, then depress the plunger. (I was told not to pinch up, but can't seem to get a good puncture without. Leakage is rare.)

[owlyn]

Bruises with the little guys? Wow.

What technique? I pinch up, puncture, relax the fold, then depress the plunger. (I was told not to pinch up, but can't seem to get a good puncture without. Leakage is rare.)


Stay pinched up till after you inject. Pull it out, then release, or release, then pull it out.

[ant hill]

Being diabetic for almost 17 years, I wish they would spend their money either developing better insulin, improving the pumps....or finding some links to cures, sorry....
Hey I am with you Cheryl, I too wish to have better insulins and pumps that are controlled by the Blood Monitor as you cannot be at thinking of what the BG gets up to and after 37 years of this stupid disease. :(
I am done worrying about if someone finds something particulary a little painful, it's more of a pain to deal with this..........then the shots or injections or the pens...don't mean to be mean, but one day I think most would feel like me....find even better ways to manage this disease or cure it, not just easier to give the medication....pointless, and money down the drain....
Cheryl

Yes indeed Cheryl, Just cure the sucker as I am done with the said technology that they say is great and that we pay out hard earned dollars on this disease. :(

[SharpTail]

The removal of Exubera from the market is old news for sure. They had problems marketing the product and the inhaler was not a convenient advice.

Beyond being a different method of delivering insulin this may be a valuable tool for both MDI and pumpers to manage their diabetes. As some of you know I have been participating in the trial for about 1 1/2 years now for Technosphere insulin. This period of treatment has been my best for control for over 25 years. Part of the reason is the fast action of this insulin and the short period of action. For me in less than 2 hours this insulin is out of my system and there is not an unexpected drop in my blood sugar level due to left over insulin action. The other great thing about the very fast action is for a correction dose. For example I have forgotten to bolus for a meal and discovered a high blood sugar of 18+ two hours after the meal. In less than an hour I have consistently been able to bring my BS level to a normal reading of 5-7 with the Technoshpere insulin. There are definitely some positive features to this medication.
Pat

[susique333]

It's just so painless to take the shots, the dosing is precise, and the onset timing very predictable. I thought the "smart insulin" someone posted a link about recently was very interesting but as far as I'm concerned, the delivery of insulin is just fine by me with a shot.

I was thinking this too, its like the folks who are trying to invent spray insulin never USED insulin, like theyre assuming its terrible to use insulin needles. Maybe for kids a spray might make a difference but IMHO once I shed my yellow feathers after my first shot, injecting didnt bother me one iota.

[viranth]

The removal of Exubera from the market is old news for sure. They had problems marketing the product and the inhaler was not a convenient advice.

Beyond being a different method of delivering insulin this may be a valuable tool for both MDI and pumpers to manage their diabetes. As some of you know I have been participating in the trial for about 1 1/2 years now for Technosphere insulin. This period of treatment has been my best for control for over 25 years. Part of the reason is the fast action of this insulin and the short period of action. For me in less than 2 hours this insulin is out of my system and there is not an unexpected drop in my blood sugar level due to left over insulin action. The other great thing about the very fast action is for a correction dose. For example I have forgotten to bolus for a meal and discovered a high blood sugar of 18+ two hours after the meal. In less than an hour I have consistently been able to bring my BS level to a normal reading of 5-7 with the Technoshpere insulin. There are definitely some positive features to this medication.
Pat

Sounds very good. One of the problems with Novorapid, which I use, is that even maybe 3-4 hours later my BG continues to drop.

Do you know when this new "wonder" insulin will be availiable for the rest of us?

[Eddy]

Stay pinched up till after you inject. Pull it out, then release, or release, then pull it out.

So I was told. That _did_ tend to leak (and bruise). *shrug*

[Eddy]

Sounds very good. One of the problems with Novorapid, which I use, is that even maybe 3-4 hours later my BG continues to drop.


How available/expensive are Humalog and Apidra in Norway? Different people react differently to the different analogs...

FWIW, I've only tried Lantus, Humulin (both R and N), and Humalog. When my BG is good, Humalog finishes within 90 minutes; when my BG is high, it takes longer.

[SharpTail]

When the inhaled Technosphere insulin will be available is unknown to me(you can Google this to find our more information). I believe I am in the final phase of the trials. This is a two year trial ending in July 2008 with the objective of assessing whether there is an impact on pulmonary function. Also this trial is being conducted in the US, Canada and in Europe so I assume the Mannkind company will try to get approval for this insulin in all of these countries. I would think they will submit the results of all their trials as soon as possible.

I would certainly not describe the TI insulin as a "wonder" insulin. Inhaled insulin has receive a lot of bad press for sure. However, the way I look at it even individuals with no fear of injecting insulin may occasionally have a use for such a fast acting insulin regardless of how it is delivered. I could definitely see it being used to give a "kick" to a usual bolus of injected fast acting prandial insulin if a meal includes very quickly metabolized carbohydrates. Also, it will work wonders for very fast corrections of high blood sugars as in the example I gave in the last post. Personally for me the absence of that "left over" and somewhat unpredictable insulin 3-4 hours after a meal has just about eliminated any bad hypos. I should say that the other important part of the equation is my injected Lantus for my basal requirements.

There are also some downsides with the TI insulin. For very insulin sensitive individuals the available dosages may be difficult to work with. Exact conversions to the injected insulins may be a challenge. Also, as may be expected, an aerobic activity that increases blood flow to the lungs within an hour or so of an inhaled bolus greatly accelerates and increases the action of the TI insulin. I have found that in this situation the action just about doubles. I suppose this feature could be used to advantage, but with caution as well. Of course all of what I am saying is anecdotal and we will have to see what the final analysis of the data tells the researchers.

[Alice]

I think the Exubera was a failure on their marketing side...all the research and development money is worthless if there is no demand for the product. Had they researched the demand (or lack thereof) then a lot of money could have been spent elsewhere...

[Raffaele]

Am I the only one who has been on Exubera for more than 1 year and simply loved it? The idea of going back to the daily injections makes me sad. Doe anyone know of any alternative to the injections? I heard about Medi-Jector Vision, which is a needless insulin injector device, but it's too costly through my insurance plan. Feel free to advise. Thank you.

[SharpTail]

I was in the clinical trial for Technosphere Insulin for 2 years. If you liked the Exubera you would definitely like the TI insulin. If you Google "Exubera Technosphere status" you will find information about some patients who were on Exubera and are now using the Technosphere Insulin as a replacment.
Pat

[nicole]

That is exactly one year old news.

I had that inhaler when it first came out. And yeah I thought it was harder to use than regular injections.

[Raffaele]

Thanx for the info. I'll go ahead and search it now.