Insulin delivery: what is new in the queue?

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a cluster of metabolic disorders with the shared feature of hyperglycemia which may be due to discrete etiopathogenesis. India stands to be the diabetic capital of the world, second only to China. After its discovery by Banting and Best, it has been established that insulin plays a fundamental role in the management of DM. In spite of insulin being in the market for so long, what still remains a challenge is the invasive approach of its administration. Conventional pharmacotherapeutic approaches of insulin delivery that have been available over the years are insulin syringes, pumps and pens. Upcoming innovative modes of insulin delivery include oral insulin, inhaled insulin, colonic insulin delivery, transdermal insulin, intra-peritoneal insulin, intra-nasal insulin, nano-technology etc. Constant research has been going on since many years to discover a route of administration for insulin that is minimally or noninvasive, effective, safe, convenient and cost-effective for patients. If successful, alternative routes of administration could revolutionize the treatment of DM and help improve patients’ quality of life