For tens of millions of diabetics who use insulin to help balance their sugar levels, there might be some wonderful news on the horizon.
Every diabetic using insulin must test his/her blood sugar and some have to test it often. Advances in that technology have been made, but the actual treatment of self administration of insulin with syringes hasn’t changed since its onset of usage as a treatment, until possibly now.
This is because insulin is a large molecule and not absorbed through the skin to any significant degree.
The dream has been to find a way to prevent the illness but failing that, to find a far more convenient method of taking the insulin.
Enter Fuse Science. They have invented a technology to encapsulate the insulin (and other compounds) and when applied to the skin as a roll on, deliver these medicines at a constant rate through the skin to the person, proven by a study. This will make the $3 billion patch industry obsolete.
"Today's scientific results indicate that Fuse Science possesses capabilities to deliver over 80% of all molecular structures with our proprietary technology through the epidermis to the blood stream," said Brian Tuffin, Fuse Science, Inc. CEO. "This opens the door for making the $3.0 billion dollar patch business obsolete and completely redefining the injectable and consumable delivery market. Of largest benefit is the present ability of Fuse Science to deliver Insulin in this roll-on form. We see this as the first step in replacing the need for daily injections by diabetic sufferers around the world." - Brian Tuffin, Fuse Science, Inc. CEO
This is a potentially great advance, but I can see a few potential problems with it: If the area of skin where it’s applied is covered by clothing (of various fiber types), will that alter absorbtion? If applied on an uncovered area of skin and another person touches it, will that person also get the insulin? If the area is scraped, will some or all of the insulin be lost? Will exposure to rain, sunlight or various temperatures alter absorbtion? If exposed to water, will it “run”? These are important questions and considerations.
Patches (imperfect at best) at least isolate the drug to the user while on the skin.
So it exists, and might eventually make it to market. However, it will be some time before this happens, and there might be some hurdles before it does.
Source:
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/22/4929144/fuse-science-inc-breaks-code-on.html
http://ir.stockpr.com/fusescience/company-news/detail/693/fuse-science-inc-breaks-code-on-patchless-insulin-delivery-with-simple-roll-on