Hanid Audish MD Discusses New Trial of Once-a-Week Diabetes Medication

This past month, Hanid Audish MD of Encompass Research and the American Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company announced their new study drug LY3209590, has gone into clinical trials. The drug will be evaluated for its safety and effectiveness in treating type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients. During the clinical trials, LY3209590 will be injected under the skin of type 2 diabetes patients and tested for its effect on low blood sugar levels. Hanid Audish MD is hopeful for LY3209590’s clinical progress and recognizes the drug’s potential to improve many type 2 diabetes patients’ lives. Unlike other insulin degludecs that require daily injections, LY3209590 will be administered as a weekly injection and last upwards of 150 hours.

There are five types of insulin available to the public; rapid-acting, short-acting, intermediate-acting, mixed insulin, and long-acting insulin. Rapid and short-acting insulin primarily helps reduce blood glucose levels during meal-time, while intermediate and long-acting insulin help manage the body’s overall glucose needs. Type 1 and 2 diabetes patients will frequently require both a rapid-acting and long-acting insulin to properly maintain their glucose levels. LY3209590 is one of few long-acting insulin degludecs that last for longer than 24 hour periods.

As of December, Hanid Audish MD and Eli Lilly and Company are recruiting volunteers for LY3209590 clinical trials. The clinical trails will last 32 weeks and will accept volunteers from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Volunteers must over the age of 18, have type 2 diabetes, and have previously been treated for type 2 diabetes with Basal insulin. Basal insulin is a type of long-acting insulin that is frequently used by diabetes in between meal-times. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Type 2 diabetes should be treated with basal insulin and up to three oral antihyperglycemic medications.

Eli Lilly and Company first synthesized LY3209590 in 2018 in the hopes of creating a more comfortable and long-lasting insulin solution for those with type 2 diabetes. On average, a type 2 diabetes patient may inject themselves with insulin anywhere between 1-5 times a day. While the WHO recommends those with type 2 diabetes take basal insulin once or twice a day, Eli Lilly and Company hope LY3209590 can help reduce the number of times a diabetes patient must inject themselves with insulin.