Diabetic patients must regularly inject insulin pen needles or they do this with the help of an insulin pump. An annoying process that would be much easier with a simple pill. But unfortunately it's not that easy. Yet scientists and companies are working hard on pills that allow the body to absorb the right amount of insulin.
An advantage is that pills can probably be brought onto the market cheaper than the current methods of injecting insulin. It is also much more pleasant for many diabetics to swallow a pill instead of injecting insulin with a needle into the body. But is it really that easy to develop such a drug? When you swallow a pill that only contains insulin, it is immediately broken down in the stomach by the enzymes from the stomach acid. Still, researchers have managed to solve this problem.
Through the intestinal wall
Pills have now been developed that have a sturdy protective layer and therefore pass through the stomach unnoticed. The insulin then reaches the intestines, where it reaches the blood through the intestinal wall. The insulin pills work after about 1,5 to 2 hours after taking them. They work for 5 hours, depending on an empty or full stomach and what exactly you have eaten in the meantime.
Various places are working on such insulin pills that need to be absorbed by the intestines. Various materials are used as a protective layer, such as fats and electrically charged particles. Research is also being conducted into substances that can inhibit enzymes in the intestines. As a result, the insulin is not broken down, but rather absorbed by the intestines.
One of the most innovative techniques has been developed by the company Rani Therapautics. A capsule is swallowed by the patient and slowly sinks towards the intestines. Once there, the capsule is inflated into a small balloon that presses against the intestinal wall. This balloon contains dissolvable needles that puncture the insulin through the intestinal wall. A major disadvantage is that the pills do not work quickly. Diabetic patients should take into account taking an insulin pill 1,5 hours before a meal. Another disadvantage is that little research has been done into the influence of the pill on the intestinal flora of diabetes patients.
Sum
Scientists at the American universities of MIT and Harvard, in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, have developed an innovative device that can deliver insulin into the bloodstream through the stomach wall. They were inspired by a species of turtle that is always able to roll properly again when it has landed upside down on its own shell.
It was essential for the researchers that the device, called Sum, would end up in a certain position on the stomach wall. That is why the shape of the turtle was used for Soma's design. Diabetic patients swallow a capsule, which consists of the device with insulin. Upon arrival in the stomach, it takes another 10 minutes for the capsule to dissolve. The released device then rotates into the correct position on the stomach wall. A major advantage is that there are few pain points here, so the patient does not feel anything.
The insulin is punctured through the stomach wall by Soma. The body will then discard the device and it will disappear from the body through digestion. Research is currently ongoing to determine whether insulin injections into the stomach will have negative consequences for the body. Although Soma is currently only being tested on rats, it is expected that it will be tested on humans in 3 years.