Pulmonary insulin delivery by means of the Technosphere drug carrier mechanism.

Technosphere/Insulin (TI) is a formulation of regular human insulin designed for efficient transport across the respiratory epithelium into the circulation. The drug carrier mechanism achieves a fast systemic insulin uptake (maximum time approximately 15-20 min), a fast onset of action (maximum activity approximately 25-30 min) and a short duration of action (approximately 2 h). Bioavailability, relative to subcutaneous injection, was established to be between 30 and 50% with a linear dose-response relationship and low variability. In all published short-term studies, TI was well tolerated. Provided a reliable long-term safety profile, TI may become a suitable alternative to subcutaneous injection for prandial insulin delivery. TI offers the possibility of new treatment regimens, especially in patients with Type 2 diabetes.