JERUSALEM, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Israeli company Oramed Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday announced success in the trials of an insulin capsule for the treatment of diabetes.
The drug, named ORMD-0801, has the potential to be the first commercial oral insulin capsule for the treatment of diabetes, which is an easier treatment compared to common insulin injections.
Diabetes chronic disorder occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin hormone which regulates blood sugar (type 1 diabetes) -- or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces (type 2 diabetes).
Diabetes is characterized by elevated blood glucose levels, which may lead to serious damage to many body systems, especially the nerves and blood vessels, causing heart diseases, chronic renal failure, eye damage and amputations.
International Diabetes Federation estimated that there are 425 million adults (20-79 years) suffering from diabetes worldwide in 2017, while 4 million patients died of this disease. It is expected that about 629 million adults will have diabetes by 2045.
The drug developed by Oramed, which is intended for type 2 diabetic patients, has been tried on 269 patients.
It turned out that, after treatment, there was a significant reduction in the level of hemoglobin A1C -- a key clinical measure of blood sugar control.
The company noted that "the drug treatment demonstrated an excellent safety profile, with no serious drug-related adverse events."
The company added that during the 90-day trial, no weight gain was observed on the patients.
Oramed, founded in 2006, is headquartered in Jerusalem and in the U.S. city of New York. It is traded on Nasdaq with a market cap of about 44 million U.S. dollars and in Israel's Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
