Insulin Diabetes Pill To Begin Testing

The pill, developed by Indian government scientists at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology in Kerala, has been successfully tested on animals and is awaiting approval for human trials in India.

The research could lead to an alternative to painful daily injections for millions of people affected by the disease. Previous attempts to develop insulin pills have suffered from the hormone being released into the body too early, such as in the stomach.

The new pill uses nanoparticles which allow the insulin to be delivered into the bloodstream. The nanoparticles break down in response to the pH of blood and release the insulin.

"We have already developed the capsule form of the insulin," said Professor Chandra Sharma, who led the study. "We have already tried it on pigs and rats."

Rat experiments showed the new nanoparticles entered the bloodstream and ended up in organs such as the liver and kidney. Separate experiments with diabetic pigs showed that their blood sugar was controlled after a pill containing the nanoparticles was eaten.

Sharma said there were a number of concerns about the risks nanoparticles might pose to the human body; for example, that they could activate blood platelets and lead to clotting. But Sharma said tests showed that the nanoparticles were generally compatible with human blood.

The research was funded by the Indian government and the technology has been transferred to an Indian-based company, which is expected to begin human trials within months.