Smart Insulin (MK-2640) Starts A Clinical Trial
But the big news is that Smart Insulin has started clinical (human) trials. In fact, the trial started months ago, in November 2014. I missed it, mostly because Merck changed the drugs name from Smart Insulin to L-490 to MK-2640. The clinical trial was under the name MK-2640, and I missed it. Luckily Mike Hoskin at DiabetesMine publicized the name change. You should read his blog for some general background, but notice that MK-2640 (the smart insulin I discuss here) is the second part of the posting: http://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/more-brains-smart-insulin
The trial itself has a fairly complex design. Its two trials combined into one. Part 1 is a group of 7 different panels (dosing regimens) given to healthy people. Part 2 is a comparison of regular insulin to MK-2640 in people who have had type-1 diabetes for at least a year. All of this involves 58 people and is expected to be done by July 2015. Unfortunately, I cannot tell how many people are doing what, so I dont know if each of the 58 people are doing each dosing regimen, or if the 58 people are divided up between the different doses. Most of the data they are collecting is pharmacokinetic meaning they are measuring how much of the drug is available in the body at any given time. How quickly it washes out of the body and so on. They will also be looking for adverse events and also patient drop outs caused by adverse events. For a drug like smart insulin where variable dosing is critical to its success, focusing on pharmacokinetics makes a lot of sense to me.
The study is recruiting in Chula Vista, California, USA. Call their toll free number: 1-888-577-8839.
Clinical Trial Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02269735
ClinicAnnouncement of Merck buying Smart Cells: http://www.merck.com/licensing/our-partnership/SmartCells-partnership.html
More: http://cureresearch4type1diabetes.blogspot.com/2015/03/smart-insulin-mk-2640-starts-clinical.html