Dallas-based Access Pharmaceuticals said that it will begin testing a new oral insulin drug in humans, according to a recent article from The Dallas Morning News. Most people with diabetes receive insulin via multiple daily injections or an externally worn insulin pump. People with Type 1 diabetes do not produce insulin, the hormone that controls the levels of sugar in the blood, and therefore must inject it. People with Type 2 diabetes produce insulin, but their bodies do not use it properly. Most people with Type 2 take medication to control their blood sugar, but some do require insulin.
Access says it has found a way to trick the body into absorbing insulin into the body through the stomach, which it doesn’t do naturally. The company says it coated the insulin in the vitamin B12. The company said this strategy has worked in rats and dogs and now it is trying the B12-coated insulin in humans.
