Novo Nordisk Insulin Analogs Have Proven Safet...( PRINCETON N.J. June 28 /- On Friday J...),Health

PRINCETON, N.J., June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday June 26, Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) published online data from four studies relating to a possible link between a long-acting insulin analog, insulin glargine, and cancer(1). As a basis for such a possible link, an accompanying editorial explains that certain insulin analogs have a structure making them more likely to bind to the IGF-1 receptor which is known to be involved in promoting tumor growth(2).

Novo Nordisk markets three insulin analogs, Levemir(R) (insulin detemir), a long-acting basal insulin analog, NovoRapid(R)/NovoLog(R) (insulin aspart), a short-acting insulin analog, and NovoMix(R)/NovoLog(R) Mix 70/30 (biphasic insulin aspart). To avoid unnecessary speculation about whether Novo Nordisk insulin analogs may be associated with an increased risk of cancer, the company wishes to highlight the following:

• For the past 20 years, all Novo Nordisk insulin analogs have been tested for IGF-1 receptor binding in the early research phase and only insulins with a binding ratio between the insulin and IGF-1 receptors similar to, or better than, that of human insulin have been accepted for further development(3).
• Studies on receptor binding and cell growth together show that insulin aspart, the insulin analog present in NovoRapid(R)/NovoLog(R) and NovoMix(R)/NovoLog(R) Mix 70/30 has an in vitro safety profile that is identical to that of human insulin(3,4).
• Studies on receptor binding have shown that Levemir(R) in comparison to human insulin has a relative affinity to the IGF-1 receptor which is equal to or slightly lower than to the insulin receptor(4,5). Levemir(R) distinguishes itself from insulin glargine, which has been shown to have increased affinity for the IGF-1 receptor compared to human insulin(4,5,6).
• All Novo Nordisk insulin analogs o
  '/>"/>