Implantable Pump Could Reduce Need for Self-Injection in Diabetics
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moodboard/Thinkstock(BOSTON) — A Boston-based startup announced positive results in testing of an implantable pump for continuous release of a diabetes drug.
According to a press release, the study found that ITCA 650, which contains the drug exenatide, is superior to a placebo in treating diabetes. The small pump is about the size of a matchstick and would be implanted one to two times per year.
If approved, Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. said, ITCA 650 “would be the first and only injection-free…therapy to deliver up to a full year of treatment in a single subcutaneous mini-pump.” The company says it is developing 6-month and 12-month pumps.
Robert Henry, M.C., chief at VA Endocrinology and Metabolism and professor of Medicine in Residence at the University of California San Diego, said he was “extremely pleased” with the reuslts and that the pumps could “provide sustained blood sugar control for many type 2 diabetes patients…without the need for regular self-injections.”
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