Posted by Ellen on February 20, 2003 at 10:55:25:
In Reply to: Inhalable Insulin? posted by Richard on February 19, 2003 at 18:04:15:
There have been reports of some fibrosis of the lungs or what they called minimal but signficant changes in lung function associated with the inhalable insulin. I'm sure I posted it somewhere on this website at least once if you want to search. I would NEVER put my child on inhalable insulin. What's next "diabetic lung"? I also wouldn't subject my growing 4 year old to any experimental protocol with something like that.
If nothing else, tell that parent to do his/her research!
Inhaled Insulin Exubera Removed from Pfizer’s New Drug List for 2002
Pfizer the world's largest drug maker, on Thursday removed promising diabetes treatment Exubera from its list of experimental drugs it is certain to submit for marketing approval this year.
Exubera, being co-developed with Inhale Therapeutic Systems Inc. and Aventis, has been delayed several times because the companies need to analyze the effect of the new drug on patients' ability to breathe, as we reported in last week’s newsletter “Inhaled Insulin Efficacious in Study, but Lung Function Drops”. Click Here.
As the study shows, it was effective in controlling blood sugars, but it also slightly hurt breathing ability. Exubera, an inhalable dry powder form of insulin, is designed to be more convenient than injections of insulin commonly used by diabetics. Pfizer will submit safety data which includes lung safety data for the drug in their application for approval with the FDA.
"If you're going to be flooding the lungs with a hormone every day, you've got to make sure you're being safe," said an analyst.