Insulin icodec, sold under the brand name Awiqli, is a medication used for the treatment of diabetes to improve glycemic control. It is an ultralong-acting basal

insulin analogue An insulin analogue (American and British English spelling differences#-ogue, -og, also called an insulin analog) is a type of Insulin (medication), medical insulin that has been modified to alter its Pharmacokinetics, pharmacokinetic properties w ...

that is developed by

Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, with production facilities in nine countries and affiliates or offices in five. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder Novo Holdings A/S ...

. It has a plasma half-life more than eight days (compared to 25 hours of the previous longest-acting insulin analogue

insulin degludec Insulin degludec (INN/USAN) is an ultralong-acting basal insulin analogue that was developed by Novo Nordisk under the brand name Tresiba. It is administered via subcutaneous injection to help control the blood sugar level of those with diabete ...

), making it a once-weekly basal insulin. Like insulin, icodec is composed of two peptide chains linked by a disulfide bridge. However, a C20 fatty diacid-containing side chain has been added for strong, reversible albumin binding; and three amino acid substitutions provide molecular stability and attenuate insulin receptor binding and clearance. Together, these modifications prolong the half-life.

Society and culture

Legal status

Insulin icodec was approved for medical use in Canada in March 2024. In March 2024, the

Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), formerly known as the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (CPMP), is the European Medicines Agency's committee responsible for elaborating the agency's opinions on all issues regar ...

(CHMP) of the

European Medicines Agency The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of pharmaceutical products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products ...

(EMA) adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorization for the medicinal product Awiqli, intended for the treatment of diabetes. The applicant for this medicinal product is Novo Nordisk A/S. Text was copied from this source which is copyright European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. Insulin icodec was approved for medical use in the European Union in May 2024.

Names

Insulin icodec is the international nonproprietary name.

Research

Based on a clinical trial, glycemic control was found to be non-inferior with once-weekly insulin icodec compared with once-daily insulin glargine U100.

References

{{Authority control Insulin analogues Drugs developed by Novo Nordisk