For many diabetics, having the ability to control their insulin with pills would be life changing
Many companies today are reportedly working on developing pills as insulin delivery methods. While these solutions would be great for people who had to frequently check and maintain their insulin levels, there are some problems with using pills.
Digestive problems
Insulin doesn’t do well when competing with stomach acid and the digestive system. This is obviously not ideal when someone with diabetes is attempting to manage their illness with insulin supplementation. It should be drug companies first port of call to get around this issue, and some companies are already making progress developing solutions by way of protein engineering. For example Oramed is currently in clinical trials for their insulin pill solution. There are some other issues involved too, including time release and making sure that insulin can pass into the blood stream.
Many people when initially diagnosed as being diabetic are required to take an oral medicine like metformin. However, many people’s diabetes progresses to a point where insulin therapy is the only solution to stay healthy. This is where pill form insulin really comes in to play and can benefit people in a multitude of ways. No more insulin injections, faster ability to begin treatment, the benefits are obvious and the development of such solutions for diabetic patients seems like logical progression.
While prevention is still the best medicine when it comes to all diseases, being able to safely and more easily treat diseases like diabetes should be a goal for drug companies across the world. At the moment, current forecasts predict that a viable, effective and easily available insulin pill will be available in the next 10 years.
