Once-Weekly Basal Insulin Awiqli:
Global healthcare giant Novo Nordisk announced the official launch of Awiqli in India, marking the country’s entry as only the seventh market in the world to introduce this drug.
- Once-Weekly Basal Insulin Awiqli (known generically as insulin icodec) is a long-acting background (basal) insulin analogue. It is the world’s first and only once-weekly basal insulin approved for clinical use in adults diagnosed with either Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, offering background glycemic control that lasts a full seven days.
- Developed By: The breakthrough drug was researched, engineered, and brought to market by the Denmark-based pharmaceutical multinational Novo Nordisk.
- It aims to eliminate the psychological dread of needles, reduce physical injection pain, and lower patient resistance to starting insulin therapy early.
Key Features:
- Significant Drop in Injection Burden: Replaces the rigid requirement of daily injections administered every 24 hours.
- This drops the baseline treatment burden from 365 injections per year down to just 52 injections, simplifying long-term care.
- In extensive global clinical trials, Awiqli demonstrated superior blood sugar management compared to standard once-daily insulin glargine U100.
- It achieved greater reductions in HbA1c levels and significantly improved Time in Range without increasing the risk of dangerous drops in blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
- Distributed through Novo Nordisk’s proprietary, pre-filled FlexTouch pen device, which allows for highly accurate dosing and simple, user-friendly self-administration at home.
- The drug is priced competitively to encourage widespread adoption among insulin users:
- Per Unit Base Cost: Priced at approximately ₹3.73 per unit.
- The 1 ml Presentation: A 700-unit pre-filled pen is priced at ₹2,611.
- The 3 ml Presentation: A 2,100-unit high-capacity pen is priced at ₹7,833.
- The Cost Advantage: For a standard weekly dose of 70 units, the operational cost comes to roughly ₹261, making it more affordable than many legacy daily basal options that range from ₹345 to ₹453 for the same volume.
