Released on = March 13, 2006, 8:11 am

Press Release Author = La Merie Business Intelligence

Industry = Biotech

Press Release Summary = Insulin analogs are conquering the insulin market, inhaled
insulins are the next generation, and oral insulins might bypass other delivery
technologies

Press Release Body = Barcelona, Spain | March 13, 2006 | The Business Intelligence
firm La Merie S.L. reported today that the 2005 insulin market is characterized by
an ongoing conversion from recombinant human (rhu) insulin to rhu insulin analogs.
The three insulin giants Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi-Aventis booked record
sales of more than US$ 7.2 bln. in 2005 with double digit growth rates of their
short- and long-acting insulin analogs. Only Lilly's insulin portfolio lacks a
long-acting analog. The recent approval of inhaled insulin Exubera from Pfizer with
technology from Nektar Therapeutics marks the beginning of the new era of
needle-free insulin administration and the entry of a fourth Big Pharma player into
the lucrative insulin market. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have their own inhaled
insulins in phase III, Sanofi-Aventis lost it by the merger due to a
change-of-ownership clause. This opens the opportunity to reassess the needle-free
insulin alternatives and to make the partnering choice among providers of inhaled,
nasal, transdermal and oral insulins. These results and more were found in a search
conducted by La Merie Business Intelligence. The competitor analysis can be acquired
at www.pipelinereview.com, La Merie's News Center and Online Store. More information
will be provided in the insulin miniseries published in the FREE daily R&D
Newsletter of PipelineReview.com beginning March 20 .

Among the needle-free insulin technologies, inhalation with deep lung delivery is
the most advanced and validated technology. One approved, three phase III and three
phase II and I products characterize the advanced stage. Intranasal delivery seems
to become the lower cost alternative of the alliance between Bentley Pharmaceuticals
and Biocon from India. Nasal delivery of insulin may have a several-fold higher
bioabsorption than pulmonary inhalation of insulin. However, there is scepticism
about nasal sprays due to the small area of absorption in the nose and the number of
variables that could interfere with dosing such as mucous, colds and allergies.

Transdermal delivery technologies using gels, patches and additional aiding systems
to allow penetration of the skin seem to be stuck in early development stages. Oral
insulins include buccal sprays, enteric coated tablets and gel capsules and are in
mid stage clinical development. Emisphere Technologies recently initiated a phase II
study with 3-months treatment to evaluate if the technology is able to produce
consistently and sufficiently high blood levels of insulin. Engineered insulins with
the aim to prolong the half-life beyond that of insulin analogs have not yet reached
clinical evaluation.

The demand for insulin is expected to substantially grow in the coming years due to
the rising number of insulin-dependent diabetics and the exploding need for
alternative insulin delivery technologies. Inhalation of insulins requires at least
five-fold more insulin than injection due to the poor bioabsorption. Availability of
high volume supply of insulin at a reasonable price will be a key issue to meet this
expansion in demand. Production of insulin in transgenic plants may be an
alternative. SemBioSys Genetics is aiming to initiate clinical testing of its
safflower produced insulin in 2006. Alternative manufacturers of follow-on rhu
insulins in Poland, Russia and especially India are scaling up their manufacturing
capacities.


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About La Merie

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SOURCE: La Merie Business Intelligence

Web Site = http://www.pipelinereview.com/joomla/content/view/1632/1/

Contact Details = Jorge Márquez
La Merie Business Intelligence
C/ Caspe, 33B, 4º, 2ª
E-08010 Barcelona
Tel +34-93-342 91 97
Fax +34-93-342 91 98
e-mail: jorge.marquez@lamerie.com
Website: http://www.lamerie.com
Online Store: www.pipelinereview.com