Big Relief: World’s first basal insulin launched in India, diabetes patients will no longer have to be injected daily, only once a week.

New Delhi. Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk on Wednesday launched ‘Awiqli’ i.e. Insulin Icodec. This is the world’s first basal insulin, which adult patients with type-1 and type-2 diabetes will have to take only once a week. With the introduction of this new medicine, instead of taking insulin 365 times a year, patients will have to take injections only 52 times, which will make the treatment much easier than before. Insulin is a hormone that works to transport glucose (sugar) present in the blood to the cells of the body, so that the sugar level in the blood remains normal. Patients with type 1 diabetes and severe type 2 diabetes usually need to take insulin daily, and sometimes more than once a day, to control blood sugar.

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According to the company, Awiqli aims to reduce the delay in introducing insulin in India. Novo Nordisk says the fear of daily injections is the biggest barrier among patients to starting insulin therapy, leading to an average delay of seven to nine years.

The company has launched a pack of 700 units for Rs 2611. That means its price will be Rs 3.73 per unit, which is said to be 30 to 40 percent cheaper than the existing daily basal insulin. If a patient requires 10 units of insulin daily, then he will need 70 units of insulin in a week, which will cost around Rs 261 per week.

The pen will be inserted once a week through the device

Mumbai-based diabetes specialist Dr. Rajiv Kovil said that the biggest feature of Awiqli is its competitive price. According to him, it is close to the existing daily basal insulin, due to which this technology will not be limited to only selected people. In clinical trials, the drug has shown blood sugar control equal to or better than daily basal insulin in many cases, he said.

About 10.1 crore people in India are suffering from diabetes, while 13.6 crore people are in pre-diabetes condition. More than 9 lakh people in the country are affected by Type-1 diabetes, the mainstay of whose treatment is insulin. At the same time, about 10 percent of type-2 diabetes patients also require insulin therapy.

Awiqli will be administered once a week using the FlexTouch pen device. The company says that this will reduce the burden of treatment, increase the regularity of patients taking medicines and also reduce the hesitation in starting insulin therapy.

Awiqli gave better results in keeping blood sugar within limits

According to data from the ONWARDS-1 clinical program, Awiqli demonstrated better results in reducing HbA1c and maintaining blood sugar levels than insulin glargine U100 taken daily. The company claims that more Type-2 diabetes patients were successful in bringing HbA1c below 7 percent without hypoglycemia.

Vikrant Shrotriya, Managing Director, Novo Nordisk India, said that this is an important milestone for diabetes treatment in India. According to him, a dose once a week will reduce both mental and physical burden on patients.

About 60 lakh people are taking insulin in India

Endocrinologist Dr. S.K., associated with Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi. Endocrinologist Dr. SK Wangnoo said that delay in starting insulin and not following the treatment properly is still a big challenge. He believes that such new technologies that make treatment easier can motivate patients to adopt insulin therapy on time.

According to the company, currently about 60 lakh people in India are taking Insulin Therapy, while at least twice as many people may need it. Vikrant Shrotriya said that if this number increases to 90 lakhs, it will be a big success for both meeting the needs of the patients and the company. He also said that every second patient taking insulin in India uses the brand manufactured by Novo Nordisk.