- Six research projects on revolutionary insulins have received £3 million
Treatment for millions of people with type 1 diabetes around the world will be revolutionised by a breakthrough insulin that responds to changes in blood levels.
The solution involves a smart insulin that would kick in when needed inside the body and would be as close to a cure as existing drug therapy.
Scientists have developed a new insulin that mimics the body’s changes in blood sugar levels, reducing the number of times patients need to indulge to just once a week.
Currently, type 1 diabetics must inject synthetic insulin up to ten times a day.
While these existing insulins help stabilize blood sugar levels when injected into the body, they cannot respond to subsequent changes.
Scientists have discovered a new smart insulin that could revolutionize the treatment of type 1 diabetes. File photo of an insulin injection pen
Experts believe that in the future patients will only need to take the newly developed insulin once a week.
Millions of pounds of funding have been awarded to accelerate the development of the new glucose-sensitive insulin (GRI), the Guardian reported.
Teams from Stanford University in the US, Monash University in Australia and Zhejiang University in China are among those to have received £3m for six research projects to develop smart insulins.
Four of the projects aim to develop new GRIs, while another has been launched to find an ultra-fast-acting variant.
Dr Tim Heise, vice chair of the scientific advisory panel on new insulins for the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, said the new GRIs would be the “holy grail” of insulin.
Millions of pounds of funding has been awarded to accelerate the development of the new glucose-sensitive insulin (GRI) (file photo)
He said the innovation would greatly help patients who currently have to monitor their condition on a daily basis, balancing their glycemic control and avoiding hypoglycemia.
Insulin was discovered jointly over 100 years ago in 1921 by Canadian surgeon Dr. Frederick Banting and his assistant Charles Best.
Dr Elizabeth Robertson, director of research at Diabetes UK, said the new solution would “significantly reduce the daily challenges” as well as the physical and mental health of those suffering from the disease.