Not Good News For Diabetics

It seems there may be an increased risk of lung cancer with inhaled insulin

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc and Nektar Therapeutics said on Wednesday clinical trials of the inhaled insulin Exubera found increased cases of lung cancer, leading Nektar to end talks with potential partners to market the product.
Nektar shares tumbled 24 percent in early trading, while shares of MannKind Corp , which has been developing its own inhaled insulin, plummeted more than 56 percent. Pfizer was little changed at $21.00.
Over the course of the clinical trials, Pfizer said six of the 4,740 Exubera-treated patients versus one of the 4,292 patients not treated with Exubera developed lung cancer. One lung cancer case was also found after Exubera reached the market.

The emphasis here is on the may, as

The warning states all patients who developed lung cancer had a prior history of cigarette smoking, and that there were too few cases to determine whether the development of lung cancer is related to Exubera use.

But it’s still not good news for folks who were hoping to get rid of those needles.

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