Will Pfizer's Insulin Inhaler Be Another Drug Debacle?
July 27 2006
|
2,735
views
Pfizer has developed a diabetes treatment called Exubera, which is the first that allows diabetics to inhale insulin as a powder, rather than inject it in liquid form. But some worry that it could be hard to use, or that it could cause lung damage.
Pfizer executives predicted that Exubera would bring in $2 billion a year in sales, but increasing distrust of the treatment among patients and physicians could result in that being a vast overestimate.
Pfizer is searching for a new "blockbuster" drug now that Lipitor faces competition from generic drugs and Zoloft has lost its patent protection.
Some patients in clinical trials of Exubera suffered lung problems, and it is not recommended for patients who perform poorly on a lung-function test. Those who take the drug need to have their lungs tested periodically. The list price is also significantly higher than that of injected insulin, and its large size (about that of a can of tennis balls) and fixed dosage may make patients wary of using it.