Diabetes pill offers hope of an end to painful injections

A pill that could mean the end of insulin injections for diabetics is about to be tested in human trials.

It will be taken twice a day and releases insulin into the body over several hours.

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. There are more than 2.5 million diabetics in the UK and more than half a million people who are unaware they have the condition.

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."

Around the world, 40 per cent of the 135 million people diagnosed with diabetes are dependent on insulin injections to regulate their blood sugar.

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.

However, the researchers admit that there are safety issues over the use of nanoparticles — which Prince Charles described as "grey goo" when he warned about the possible risks of cutting-edge science.

Professor 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 Professor 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.

Dr Victoria King, research manager at Diabetes UK, said: "There are approximately 900,000 people in the UK who currently take insulin injections, sometimes up to four times a day, so being able to take their insulin orally would have a great impact on their quality of life.

"This research, however, is still in its early stages and has been tested in animals, therefore further studies establishing the medication's suitability and safety for use in people with diabetes who use insulin would be needed."