ABSTRACT
According to the International Diabetes Federation in its 2013 report, roughly 382 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes of which 85%–95% or more are type 2 diabetes patients [1]. The number of patients is expected to grow to 592 million in less than 25 years [1]. Approximately 26% of type 2 diabetes patients currently take daily insulin injections in the United States [1-3]. Insulin is currently underutilized by type 2 diabetes patients due to resistance to daily injections [4-7]. Insulin injections are generally viewed unfavorably by patients, leading those with poor glycemic control to postpone insulin for up to 7 years. Approximately 73% of type 2 diabetes patients delay insulin injection therapy, and of those approximately 25% refuse insulin despite their physician’s recommendation and some are needle phobic. Patients avoid and delay insulin therapy partially due to the inconvenience, pain, and the social stigma of daily injections. Of patients who nally accept treatment, 70% resist increasing the number of injections, and we believe a signicant portion regularly skip insulin treatment at mealtime [4-8]. Despite these drawbacks, according to BCC Research, global sales of insulin and insulin devices were estimated to reach approximately $26 billion in 2013 and are projected to grow to $40 billion by 2018 [2].
