Health Canada approves weekly insulin injection for Canadians with diabetes

A weekly insulin injections will be available to Canadians starting June 30th. The drug was approved for use back in March and those prescriptions can start being filled for patients living with diabetes. Typically, diabetics need to inject themselves with insulin multiple times every day. Endocrinologist Dr. Alexander Abbott BOWL was part of the clinical trials for Nova Nordisk, a weekly here in Canada. He explains with this new option, the patient receives the same amount of the dose that will be given over seven days. But all at once in a single injection, Abbol says the easier things are for the patient, the better if we could make it more convenient, if it's as efficacious and safe as compared to what we have in terms of basal insulin. But for me, the game changer is that about 40% of people we recommend insulin never fill the prescription. About 20% stop it within a year. So this eases the initiation of basal insulin, which is a huge barrier to care in the management of diabetes and hopefully keeps more people on it after they've started. Health Canada approved the weekly insulin for both type one and type 2 diabetes. Endocrinologists believe it will be particularly helpful to type 2 patients as they are diagnosed later in life. A once weekly formulation will be easier to accept than daily dosing, ultimately improving health and reducing the risk of complications. Catherine Ward, Global News, Toronto.