The FDA expanded the approved use of inhaled insulin for kids 6 years and older on Friday. It’s the first-ever needle-free insulin option for pediatric diabetes patients, according to MannKind Corporation, the maker of Afrezza, the brand name of inhaled insulin, which has been on the market for over a decade.
Dr. Jamie Wood, an endocrinologist and medical director of pediatric diabetes at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, was a lead investigator in the clinical trial.
“It’s been my mantra for years when I’m working with people with diabetes and their parents, is that how they manage their diabetes or choose to manage their diabetes is up to them and they deserve choice,” he said.
“We demonstrated in the trial that when you compare [inhaled insulin] to injected insulin, the results are about the same,” Wood said. “We were able to demonstrate with the pulmonary function testing through the 52-week timepoint as well that the pulmonary function was stable and there were no safety signals whatsoever for the pulmonary function.”
The most common side effects included low blood sugar, a risk when using any type of insulin, and temporary cough.
GoodRx shows Afrezza can cost over $2,000 a month, but MannKind said most people pay $35 or less per month through Medicare caps or by the manufacturer buying down commercial insurance costs. For people only paying with cash, they offer the drug for $99, a spokesperson for MannKind told ABC News.
Afrezza is dosed through a discrete inhaler, and the cartridges are color coded based on the three dosing options.
Patients or parents interested in this treatment option should talk to their child’s endocrinologist to learn more and decide what may be right for them.