Artificial Pancreas: A UK Biotech Invention – Potential for Replacement to Insulin Injections

Curator: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

The diabetes disease has been researched in depth on this Open Access Online Scientific Journal

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/?s=Diabetes

The Pancreas gland and pathophysiologies of Panceas-Liver-Biliary System were thoroughly examined as the research findings emerged

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/?s=Pancreas

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/?s=Liver

OPINION Leadership

1. We view an Artificial Pancreas Invention, the UK Biotech Invention having the Potential for Replacement to Insulin Injections, to have potentially major benefit for the care of the Diabetic patient.

2. It will become a “Disruptive Technology” which will bring major changes and challenges in the

A. Medical Diagnostic field and the

B. Pharmaceutical Market for Antibiabetic drugs.

3. the technology will be commercialized as an Insulin PUMP worn or carried externally, which companies ranging from startups to giants like Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) and Medtronic ($MDT) are marketing as alternatives to painful insulin injections.

Product Description

De Montfort’s artificial pancreas–Courtesy De Montfort U. The De Montfort insulin pump is about the size of a wristwatch and surgically implanted into the abdomen, unlike most rival technologies, which are worn externally and connected to insulin-delivery devices under the skin.

• The pump contains gel that releases insulin in response to rising glucose levels, and it is attached by a small tube to a refill port just under the skin.
• Patients will only need to refill the device by injection every two weeks, according to a story in the Daily Mail. “The device will not only remove the need to manually inject insulin, but will also ensure that perfect doses are administrated each and every time,” Taylor told the publication.

Regardless of whether such technologies are surgically implanted or worn outside the body, they are increasingly being referred to as “artificial pancreases” because they are designed to regulate blood-glucose levels automatically, eliminating the need for patients to inject insulin up to four times daily. The market has been heating up lately, led by Minnesota device maker Medtronic, which won FDA approval in September for its MiniMed 530G, a pump that automatically stops delivering insulin based on a preset minimum threshold, thereby lowering the risk of hypoglycemia–a potentially dangerous drop in blood glucose levels. 

Other companies that are perfecting artificial pancreas systems include

• J&J’s Animas division, and
• Becton Dickinson ($BDX), which teamed up with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation last June to develop a new insulin-delivery device.

And in November, insulin pump developer Tandem Diabetes Care hauled in $120 million in an initial public offering, $20 million more than the San Diego company expected to raise. Tandem ($TNDM) plans to use the money to develop a high-capacity insulin pump called t:flex, which will include continuous glucose monitoring technology, according to regulatory filings.

Related articles:

Medtronic wins FDA nod to roll out auto-stop insulin device

Tandem banks $120M in topped-out IPO, stirring med tech market hopes

The race for the artificial pancreas

SOURCE

editors@fiercemedicaldevices.com

Potential diabetes ‘cure’ to end misery of insulin jabs: DIABETES sufferers will be spared the misery of daily jabs by a revolutionary implant.

Human trials in two years for artificial pancreas invention

– See more at: http://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/news/2014/january/human-trials-in-two-years-for-artificial-pancreas-invention.aspx#sthash.xZUttV4l.dpuf

SOURCE

http://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/news/2014/january/human-trials-in-two-years-for-artificial-pancreas-invention.aspx

End of the diabetes jab? New insulin implant controls blood glucose levels without injections

• The wristwatch-size device can be surgically implanted into the abdomen
• It contains a reservoir of insulin held in place by a gel barrier
• When glucose levels in the body rise, the gel liquefies and releases insulin into the body – just like a normally functioning pancreas would do
• As it lowers the glucose levels, the gel hardens again preserving the reservoir – the insulin reservoir has to be topped up every two weeks
• Human trials are set to begin in 2016 and the first implants could take place on the NHS within a decade

By EMMA INNES

PUBLISHED: 05:23 EST, 24 January 2014 | UPDATED: 06:15 EST, 24 January 2014

Insulin injections for diabetics could soon be a thing of the past thanks to the creation of a revolutionary new implant.

The device, which has been created by British scientists, works like an artificial pancreas by releasing insulin into the bloodstream.

It can be implanted into the abdomen from where it releases a precise amount of insulin meaning injections are no longer needed.

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A new abdominal implant could spell the end of insulin injections for people with diabetes

The supplies of insulin in the implant can be topped up every two weeks using a tube which passes out through the skin.

The wristwatch-size device was created by scientists at De Montfort University, in Leicester.

They say it is the next best thing to a cure for diabetes because it means the patient no longer has to manage the condition themselves.

Professor Joan Taylor, professor of pharmacy at De Montfort University in Leicester, said: ‘The device will not only remove the need to manually inject insulin, but will also ensure that perfect doses are administrated each and every time.

‘We are extremely close to embarking on clinical trials. Diabetes is costing society more than £1 million an hour in treatment, and much of that is spent on treating complications.’

Human trials of the device are due to begin in 2016 and the researchers hope the first implants will take place on the NHS within a decade.

The implant, which has to be inserted surgically, contains a reservoir of insulin that is kept in place by a gel barrier.

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The implant was invented by Professor Joan Taylor (left) who says it is as good as a cure for diabetes as it means patients no longer need to monitor and control their condition themselves

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The researchers hope their device could save millions of people from daily insulin injections (pictured) and that it could help to prevent the health problems associated with poor diabetes management

When glucose levels in the body rise, the gel liquefies and releases insulin into the body, mimicking the normal behaviour of a pancreas.

As the insulin lowers the glucose levels, the gel reacts by hardening again and preserving the reservoir.

It would eliminate the need for diabetics to inject insulin up to four times a day.

The artificial pancreas could help all type 1 insulin-dependent diabetics and some type 2 diabetics who need daily injections.

‘This device is cheap and simple to use,’ said Professor Taylor. ‘It has the potential to bring an end to the misery of daily injections for diabetics.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2545180/The-end-diabetes-jabs-New-insulin-implant-controls-blood-glucose-levels-without-injections.html#ixzz2rdEVdHjz