Insulin detemir


Insulin detemir, sold under the brand name Levemir among others, is a long-acting insulin used to treat both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It is used by injection under the skin. It is effective for up to 24 hours.
Common side effects include low blood sugar, allergic reactions, pain at the site of injection, and weight gain. Use in pregnancy and breastfeeding appears safe. It works by increasing the amount of glucose that tissues take in and decreasing the amount of glucose made by the liver.
Insulin detemir was approved for medical use in the European Union in June 2004 and in the United States in June 2005. In the United Kingdom it costs the NHS about £2.80 per 100 units as of 2019. In the United States the wholesale cost of this amount is about US$29.50. In 2017, it was the 114th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than six million prescriptions.

Medical use

It is used to treat both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. With respect to blood sugar management, it appears to work at least as well as NPH insulin and insulin glargine.

Side effects

Common side effects include low blood sugar, allergic reactions, pain at the site of injection, and weight gain. Use in pregnancy and breastfeeding appears safe.

Chemistry

It is an insulin analogue in which a fatty acid is bound to the lysine amino acid at position B29. It is quickly absorbed after which it binds to albumin in the blood through its fatty acid at position B29. It then slowly dissociates from this complex.

Society and culture

On June 13, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a public health advisory for insulin determir after learning that 129,000 stolen vials reappeared and were being sold in the U.S. market. The FDA warned that the stolen vials "may not have been stored and handled properly and may be dangerous for patients to use." The stolen vials were identified as lots XZF0036, XZF0037, and XZF0038.