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The SoloStar for Lantus

An easier way to take Lantus

For those on or considering the basal insulin Lantus, a new disposable pen is out. Approved by the FDA on April 30, this new option for Lantus – called the SoloStar – will be made available across the US this year. Lantus users now deliver with the refillable pen OptiClik or with the traditional vial and syringe. We think it’s great to see this new pen, since the OptiClik has had various delivery problems, and we’re waiting to see how patients like the SoloStar and whether it’s covered by insurance. The pen is pre-filled with Lantus and can dose up to 80 units per injection, which is more than any other disposable pen. According to Sanofi-Aventis, which makes the pen, it requires less “injection force,” which may be good for those with limited hand strength, though we can’t verify yet that you can really tell the difference. A SoloStar pre-filled with the rapid-acting insulin Apidra has already been approved in Europe; we may see that in the US in the next few years.

Ways to learn online, thanks to the drug companies

Drug and device companies are increasingly using “direct-to-consumer” marketing to diabetic patients as well as to doctors and educators. As we’ve written, this can be a great source of learning about available therapies. Novo Nordisk and Medtronic Diabetes Care each just launched new, comprehensive websites focused on patient education (more than on selling any particular product). In fact, the amount of information provided on Novo Nordisk’s www.changingdiabetes-us.com, specifically about insulin, is comprehensive to the point of overwhelming. What struck us most, however, was the site’s effort at personalization and diversity. You can create a personalized home page to construct a “Diabetes Care Plan” – you have to sign in to become a member and then fill out a series of questions about daily and long-term goals. While we found aspects of the navigation somewhat confusing or redundant, and while initially not everyone will want to take the time to sift through the pages, fill out the numbers, and keep updating their information, we do believe the site could be useful to highly motivated patients. We think it also sends a message of inclusion and compassion. Medtronic’s www.realdiabetescontrol.com is both stylish and generic at the same time. It’s easy to read, beautiful to look at, and only promotes Minimed products very subtly. The page for “insulin pump therapy” enumerates both the advantages and the disadvantages, though in the drop down for non-insulin-dependent therapies, which is outside of Medtronic’s expertise, it only urges patients to see the ADA site. For the most part, we found it a fairly balanced assessment of different treatments, and patients will appreciate (again for the most part) the absence of hype. That said, the link to “real-time continuous glucose monitoring” describes it as a “revolutionary new tool” without identifying any of the tool’s shortcomings (accuracy, false alarms, and so on).

The combination pill, Janumet

Januvia + metformin = Janumet

Less is more with this new diabetes pill out from Merck. It combines two favorites in one formulation – one is metformin, a veteran of diabetes drugs, and the other is Januvia, a promising rookie. If it’s appropriate for you to be on both these drugs, this new combination pill means one co-pay and an easier routine. Metformin and Januvia, a DPP-4 inhibitor, target different areas of the body: metformin decreases glucose production by the liver and Januvia increases insulin secretion by the pancreas, both acting in different ways against hyperglycemia. We’ve heard from doctors that the drugs work better together. The pill is taken twice a day, rather than Januvia’s once a day, though metformin is also once or twice a day. Doctors may prefer you start with metformin, as they may want to determine your optimal dose of that drug first (metformin dosing differs person to person), and insurance may not cover starting directly on the combination. Insurers may change, as more healthcare professionals are calling for earlier and more aggressive therapy.

The FreeStyle Lite

Fun affairs from a motivated educator and a Dream Fund

Jenna Scarsi, a diabetes educator from the Chicago area with type 1 diabetes, recently won the Bayer Dream Fund, an annual $100,000 fellowship to help people accomplish something “that might not have been possible unless they were in control of their diabetes.” The fund is helping Jenna to expand a program she created a few years ago called Lights, Camera, Cure. What was an annual, mostly local event can now be bimonthly and in various cities across the U.S. Scarsi’s events are geared toward kids and consist of small diabetes health fairs followed by family movies, for which the events are themed. For example, the next event, in Philadelphia in June, will show Surf’s Up, a mockumentary slated for release this summer about surfing penguins, so activities at the event will include a hula-hoop contest and other island-inspired adventures. Two aspects we love differentiate Scarsi’s events. The people providing information at each of the fair’s stations (“what is diabetes,” pumping, exercise, BG monitoring, and so on) are not educators or doctors, but “youth advocates,” or young people ages five to 21 with diabetes. Also, the money raised stays in the city in which it was raised – a hospital’s diabetes unit, a diabetes center, or anything that “does something positive for the diabetes community” in that city, says Scarsi. Scarsi says she created the program because it’s “one thing to know what we have to do to intensively manage our diabetes, and it’s another thing to do it on a daily basis.” Upcoming events will also be in Philadelphia in June Portland (with a Grease sing-along), Nashville (likely with an IMAX showing of Polar Express), and San Antonio. Details can be found at www.lightscameracure.com, and if you’re interested in applying for your own Dream Fund, applications are now being accepted at www.bayerdreamfund.com/tellusurdrea_form.php.

How’s your heart?

During this year’s Super Bowl, a commercial for the American Heart Association’s online risk calculator caught Americans in the act – of stuffing their faces with corn chips. The risk calculator is at www.beatyourrisk.com and determines your risk of a heart attack when you enter some stats. The television commercial involved a man in a red heart costume getting attacked by a gang of risk factors: criminals labeled with “high blood pressure,” “diabetes,” “overweight,” and “high cholesterol” (see the commercial at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kgc-8KTMtl8). Due to the commercial, traffic to the website was three times what it is on a normal Sunday night. A preliminary analysis showed that three of four visitors are at higher than normal risk for a cardiovascular event.

A no-coding meter out from FreeStyle

In April, the FDA approved the FreeStyle Lite meter, which requires no coding. It’s similar to the very small FreeStyle Flash, though apparently won’t be replacing it at this stage. Only Bayer meters had “no-coding” (or auto-calibration) before now. The Freestyle Lite is supposed to be simple and easy-to-use, two descriptors we love to hear for devices. Jane Seley, a member of our advisory board and a noted educator from New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, praised the meter for its “killer combination” of no-coding, smallest blood drop size, and an excellent backlight, which she thought really does make a difference in speed and convenience.