Biocon presents human clinical data on oral insulin

Bangalore, Sep 21 (UNI) Biocon Limited, India's premier biotechnology company has presented the results of Phase one studies on its oral insulin product, IN-105 at the European Association for Study of Diabetes (EASD) meeting held at Amsterdam today.

According to a company release here Phase one studies were conducted on healthy volunteers who have been administered IN-105 in the form of a tablet. The human clinical data on IN-105 was presented at the session on Novel therapies. Based on these promising results, Biocon intended to develop this molecule through further clinical trials.

Biocon said IN-105 was a novel analog of insulin, proprietary to Biocon. The product has special properties that make it feasible for delivery in tablet form stable at room temperature. The advantages of tablet delivery go beyond the obvious. Besides being a needle-free insulin, this method of delivery allows IN-105 to be delivered into the body in a physiological manner that mimics the way that the pancreas release insulin into the circulation. This contrasts with all the other known methods of delivery, including inhaled insulin, which brings in insulin from the periphery into the circulation.

Biocon Chairman and Managing Director. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw commenting on the presentation said: "This is indeed an encouraging step towards our efforts of bringing an oral insulin to diabetic patients across the world. IN-105 promises to be a significant value differentiator in Biocon's quest for global leadership in the insulin segment." The release said Biocon Limited has carried out all of the development for this molecule, including clinical development at its facilities here. It had also recently obtained approval from the Swedish medical authorities to carry out Phase one human clamp studies for this molecule in Sweden. This would be the first such clinical trial outside of India for IN-105. The Swedish trial would be carried out at the Karolinska Institute clinical research unit and focus on obtaining more pharmacological understanding of the mode of action of IN-105.

UNI