Exubra, yet another dangerous drug.

[Larry H.]

Here is a link to the information just coming out on a supposed diabetic drug that is causing cancer in this ones case. No wonder I always prefer to do it without if possible.

Pfizer warns of lung cancer with inhaled insulin - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080409/bs_nm/pfizer_nektar_dc;_ylt=AspVKQ00oTzhFdpp3W1GTJqs0NUE )

Of course if you have to take them you have to take them. But its very disturbing to me to see so many huge drugs that are based more on making money than in actually curing something. I read a long time ago by a prominent medical doctor that most of the diabetic drugs would kill you long before the diabetes did.. He may have been right in some cases.

[Scratch]

Exubera isn't really a drug, it was a method of delivery of insulin, a hormone the pancreas produces to regulate glucose levels. It's a rather necessary hormone, and replacement of that hormone is essential for type 1 diabetics.

With the numbers given in the article, it's quite a leap to say with any certainty that the method of delivery has caused the lung cancer in the cases of those who developed lung cancer. There are many causes of lung cancer. But there were enough cases that Pfizer needed to put warnings on the remaining production of Exubera, which is to be discontinued anyhow because there probably isn't as large of a market for inhaled insulin as the pharmaceuticals seem to think there is and Exubera's method of delivery using the huge bongpipe along with the packets didn't result in a stampede of diabetic patients asking their doctors for RXes.

[Funnygrl]

I'm not suprised at this at all. There's a bunch of insulin particles not being absorbed sticking to the lungs. Your lungs don't like foreign objects. And they knew it caused lung damage, just not how much. It was a bad idea from the start.

[notme]

I agree Funnygrl. I said this from the start. Ya think that would have been their first thought when they came up with the idea. :confused:

[Scrabblechick]

When are they going to come up with an insulin patch, I wonder? Seems like that would be a logical next step, especially for basal insulin, like Lantus.