oral insulin

Indications

• investigational treatment of diabetes mellitus

Mechanism of action

• tiny (5-mm diameter) devices with flat bottoms
• when swallowed, device rolls on the mucosal surface of the stomach until the flat bottom contacts the gastric mucosa
• the device then stays in that position, & gastric fluid triggers a tiny spring that pushes a small needle, covered with therapeutic biomacromolecules, into the gastric mucosa
• the macromolecules are absorbed into the bloodstream, & the device passes out of the body in the feces

More general terms

• pharmaceutical insulin
• oral hypoglycemic agent