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One way of avoiding the problems of oral delivery of insulin
is to put the hormone straight into the bloodstream. That’s
essentially what injections do, but a viable alternative
is to use transdermal technology, allowing the product to
be absorbed direct into the capillaries of the skin. At
first sight this is straightforward since many products
are already delivered using transdermal patches. However,
insulin is a large and complex molecule. That has not put
off Helix BioPharma, from Canada, however. This company
is developing a transdermal patch containing insulin. Using
its proprietary BIPHASIX microencapsulation system, Helix
has treated diabetic rats with transdermal insulin and shown
significantly reduced blood glucose levels as a result.
The company is currently seeking licensing partners for
the product.
In
Germany, IDEA is conducting Phase I trials for a transdermal
insulin that uses its Transfersomes drug delivery system.
This is being tested at the WHO Diabetes Reference Centre
in Dusseldorf, and is also available for licensing.
Details
on the development of transdermal insulins can be found
on IMS HEALTH’s drug development database
R&Dfocus.
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