Researchers in Japan say they’ve made a significant breakthrough towards developing a daily tablet that could replace insulin injections for diabetics.
A team at Kumamoto University has developed a tiny new peptide that, in laboratory tests on mice, helps insulin pass through the gut.
This is a critical obstacle that has thwarted previous attempts at oral insulin. In new tests, combining this peptide with a specially stabilised form of insulin reduced blood sugar levels after oral administration, reports Science Daily.
« Insulin injections remain a daily burden for many patients, » said Associate Professor Shingo Ito.
« Our peptide-based platform offers a new route to deliver insulin orally and may be applicable to long-acting insulin formulations and other injectable biologics. »
Typically, the digestive system destroys insulin before it can prove beneficial, and our guts don’t readily allow large proteins to enter the bloodstream.
That’s why numerous people with diabetes still depend on injections – a daily routine that can be painful, disrupt work and family life, and increase costs for supplies.
The Kumamoto group’s solution uses a zinc-stabilised ‘hexamer’ – six insulin molecules clustered together – packaged with a new cyclic peptide. In trials, this combination endured the gut long enough and permeated through the intestinal wall to perform its function.
This is an initial step towards a pill people can consume. Any new medicine must first demonstrate its safety, consistency, and effectiveness in human trials.
Further investigation is also required to identify stable pill formulations of the peptide–insulin combo that work consistently.
According to the most recent data released in 2010, approximately 421,000 individuals in the UK were utilising insulin, a figure that had tripled between 1991 and 2010 due to increasing type 2 diabetes diagnoses.
With over five million individuals now living with diabetes in the UK, with about 10% of those having type 1, and one in four of those with type 2 requiring it, that number has likely risen.
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