22.09.11
£625m ‘wasted’ on synthetic insulin
Human alternatives to synthetic insulin are cheaper and just as effective, research published in the BMJ Open suggests. The price difference means that the NHS may have spent £625m unnecessarily on synthetic insulin in the past decade.
The research analysed publicly available data from four UK prescription pricing agencies from 2000-2009. The NHS spent £2,732 million on insulin in that time, and while the cost of synthetic insulin rose to 85% of this total, human alternatives fell to just 14%.
The report states: “We know that the rise of insulin analogues has had a substantial financial impact on the NHS, yet over the same period there has been no observable clinical benefit to justify that investment.
“It is likely that there was and is considerable scope for financial savings. Most worryingly, the clinical role and safety of insulin for use in people with type 2 diabetes is being questioned.”
The number of people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK has risen to 2.8 million, with 90% having type 2, which does not require insulin treatment immediately.
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