Are there any non-injection methods of delivering long-acting insulin?

Question

Affreza is an inhaler that delivers rapid-acting insulin through inhaling rather than injection. But my question is, are there any methods of delivering long-acting insulin that do not require an injection?

Insulin syringes (like the ones used with Toujeo and Triceba), insulin pumps (like Medtronic), patch pumps (like V-Go), insulin ports (like I-Port), and insulin jet injectors (like Insujet) all require an injection of some kind. But does anyone know a way to deliver long-acting insulin, either inhalable like Affreza or some other method that doesn't involve injection in any way?

Note that this is about Type II diabetes, not Type I.

Answer 1

There are no inhaled insulin products that are long-acting, basal products. Today, Afrezza is the only type of inhaled insulin that is available, and it is of course bolus insulin. The only other inhaled insulin product that made it to commercialization, Exubera (PDF), only lasted a year, and was also a fast-acting bolus insulin.

By its very nature, inhaled insulin has inherent advantages for speed of action, from the lungs into the bloodstream. The other aspect is that you only use basal insulin once or twice a day, where you use bolus insulin many times a day -- so being able to use an aerosol for bolus insulin has more attraction.

Either way, you are out of luck :( I don't expect to see a non-injectable basal insulin for many years. I don't know of any such product in FDA trials.