Insulin News That's Easy To Swallow

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 18 Jan 2008 - 1:00 PST

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There's good news on the horizon for the millions of Americans who suffer from diabetes. A new method for taking insulin orally has been developed that mimics the way the body naturally processes this crucial hormone.

There are two types of diabetes. Type 1, or juvenile onset diabetes, is treated with daily insulin injections. Type 2 diabetes, which is more common, can sometimes be treated by diet alone, or through a combination of diet and oral medication or insulin. Serious complications associated with the disease include heart disease, stroke, vision problems, kidney damage, etc.

"A capsule option would be a first choice for diabetics if it was available and a best-case solution," says Nadav Kidron, CEO of Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc., an Israeli-based biotechnology company that has created and patented an oral insulin capsule primarily intended for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. "Oral insulin delivery is an idea with huge potential not only for patients who dislike needles but, with the insulin market generating $25 billion a year in worldwide revenues, it represents an enormous opportunity for drug developers as well."

As opposed to insulin taken by injection, the Oramed capsule mimics the ways in which the body naturally produces, regulates, and distributes the hormone. The capsule causes insulin to penetrate from the gastrointestinal track onto the liver. The organ then regulates the intake of the hormone prior to passing it onto the circulatory system. This revolutionizes the way in which insulin is delivered to the body by enabling its passage in a more physiologically normal manner. Oramed's oral insulin capsule may make it possible for hundreds of millions of diabetics worldwide to receive earlier treatment of insulin, which would allow them to better control their diabetes.

The number of diabetics is growing. There are currently 177 million diabetics worldwide, with nearly twenty-one million suffering from the disease in America alone. According to the American Diabetes Association and the World Health Organization, the number of people with diabetes is expected to increase to 380 million by the year 2025. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has characterized this increase as an epidemic.

Oramed recently completed its Phase 1A clinical trials, which successfully assessed both the safety/tolerability and indicated absorption properties of its proprietary oral insulin capsule.

http://www.oramed.com