100 years after the discovery of insulin, researchers are working on a new evolution of therapy. Icodec, a new “slow-release” basal insulin, promises to simplify and revolutionize the care of diabetic patients, drastically reducing the number of injections per therapy: one per week instead of one per day.
Two of the very first international studies to show the world the encouraging results of one of the most important therapeutic innovations in the diabetes field of recent times, the new insulin which can be administered subcutaneously only once a week instead of once a day, were published in the July 2021 issue of ‘Diabetes Care’ magazine. In one of these studies, which saw the collaboration of Canadians, Americans and British, the Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital contributed of Bergamo.
This phase II multicenter study involved 154 patients suffering from type 2 diabetes and on daily treatment with basal insulin and with at least one oral hypoglycemic drug. The researchers came to two conclusions. In patients undergoing the test it was well tolerated the passage from basal insulin a daily administration (glargine U100) to the new icodec insulin, able to cover the need for insulin for a week thanks to a constant release of the active ingredient. The change in therapy did not lead to an increase risk of hypoglycemia, but has even improved glycemic control compared to daily insulin.
The importance of this study, together with a second study that investigated other aspects of this new insulin therapy in parallel, was highlighted by the journal ‘Diabetes care’, one of the most prestigious magazines with the highest impact factor in the diabetic field. The news was judged so significant that it deserves an ad hoc editorial that traces the main evolutionary stages of the fight against diabetes starting from discovery of insulin in 1921, exactly 100 years ago, when insulin was first isolated, to this day. The next step in this story is the extensive phase III clinical trial program, which has already started, with the extension of enrollment to patients with type 1 diabetes.
Pope John made a substantial contribution to this study through the enrollment of 10 patients followed by the Endocrine Diseases Unit 1 – Diabetology.
Together with the director, Roberto Trevisan, his team of doctors, Giuseppe Lepore, Alessandro Roberto Dodesini, Anna Corsi, Cristiana Scaranna, Rosalia Bellante, they carefully followed all the diabetic patients, including the case manager nurse Laura Regazzoni and the data manager of FROM – Research Foundation of the Bergamo Hospital, Mascia Albizzi.
“It is truly a great satisfaction, one hundred years after the discovery of insulin, to contribute with this study to the continuous positive revolution of insulin therapy. A progress that aims to facilitate the life of the person with diabetes, but also to reduce the long-term complications of the disease – he commented Roberto Trevisan, professor of Endocrinology at the University of Milano-Bicocca and director of Diabetology of the ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII of Bergamo -. This new molecule has the potential to transform diabetes therapy, eliminating the discomfort of daily injection for patients and thus increasing adherence to insulin therapy. I would like to dedicate the results of this research to all our patients who agreed to participate in the study and to our hospital, which, as always, has facilitated clinical research ”.
Switching from daily to weekly intake would be a huge benefit for type 2 diabetics, which are very often elderly subjects, sometimes suffering from other pathologies that force them to take many other therapies every day. Another benefit of formulating therapy on a weekly basis will be the ability to reduce the effort required of healthcare professionals dealing with diabetics who require insulin, especially for those admitted to long-term residential healthcare facilities.
“I thank the professionals of our Diabetology for having shown once again that our hospital is able to offer our patients the most innovative therapies thanks to the participation in international collaborations in important research projects – commented the medical director of the ASST Papa John XXIII, Fabio Pezzoli -. We intend to continue to make our contribution to scientific progress on the therapeutic front and beyond. It is thanks to research that, as a large general hospital, we have the opportunity to make our expertise in multiple branches of medicine available to patients and fellow researchers ”.