According to Kiran Mazumdar Shaw- CMD of BIOCON - an Indian Biotechnology Company,orally administered insulin is soon going to be a reality. They have been working on oral insulin since morethan past six year when they imported the crucial technology to prevent breaking up of the Insulin taken orally by Gastric enzymes and started developing oral Insulin in Bangalore. The oral Insulin is already in the phase III trial where it is being administered to 300 individuals. Its possible that the drug may be available in Markets next year in India. The company is also trying to get approval of FDA to conduct trials in US.

It would be interesting to note that some other Companies of the world Like Novo Nordisk , Apollo Lifesciences of Australia, Oramed in Israel are at different stages of Testing orally delivered Insulin Formulations....Initial results have been successful, so there is hope that in our lifetimes Insulin injections may become history.

Insulin is a protein and is digested by our gastrointestinal system just as other proteins e.g milk..The tricky part is allowing the insulin molecule to pass through the gastro intestinal system undamaged and still in an active form till it reaches the Liver, where it needs to produce its action of reducing Glucose levels. Different techniques are being employed by different companies to achieve this goal - an Insulin which may be absorbed right in the mouth and cause decrease in postprandial glucose levels has already been tested and found to be effective. All these claims have as of yet been made by the drug developing companies only and need wider confirmation. 

Editorial- No orally delivered Insulin medications are available as yet. It may take a long time for the orally delivered Insulins to be available in the market and be affordable as well. Moreover the actual efficacy and potential side effects of Drugs become evident only after they are taken by a large number of people over a long period of time, a trial on 30 or 300 persons for 2-3 years  is by no means sufficient to elucidate all the effects of new medicines.

The fate of inhaled insulin which was supposed to be a solution to all the Insulin injection problems asks for a more patient approach to new treatment solutions. In stark contrast to other medications Insulin is a highly potent molecule, its dosing has to be accurate as a little more than required may cause substantial damage through Hypoglycemia, It is possible to control such doses only through injections till yet. With advances in technolgy- insulin injections have become easy to administer and almost painless,  We should hope for the best but at the same time continue the time tested practices as prevalent now...

Don't be afraid of Insulin- Taking Insulin is easier than seems to be

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