New Drug for Diabetics: Eli Lilly &...

New Drug for Diabetics: Eli Lilly & Co.’s experimental insulin, Humalog, was recommended for approval as a prescription drug by a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel. Members of the FDA’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee recommended approval of the drug for diabetics, although it called for additional clinical trials before Humalog is sold for young children or pregnant women. Humalog would dramatically simplify the lives of millions of American diabetics, according to testimony by patients and advocates. The Indianapolis-based company’s product works faster and exits the body more quickly than traditional insulin, making it possible for patients to inject it just before a meal instead of 30 minutes to 45 minutes before. Studies show that more than half the 3.1 million American diabetics on insulin don’t take it long enough before eating to maximize its ability to process blood sugar, or glucose, because they forget or aren’t able to wait for it to begin working.