A majority of type 2 diabetics currently use Lantus SoloSTAR Pen. Most of them use prefilled injection pens that are entirely disposable. These pens are more convenient to use for most patients with busy lifestyles, as they come pre-filled with insulin/medication. Easy push-button injection, transparent cartridge, and a window showing injection is complete are the features desired by all current injection pen users. The top three features for which most patients are likely to switch to another brand (if their current pen does not have those features) are easy push-buttons, pen memory, and highly automated.
Research Background
Medications for type 2 diabetes come in various classes, including alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, amylin agonists, dipeptidyl-peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, meglitinides, sulfonylureas, and thiazolidinediones. Some of these drugs are administered orally whereas others are injected.
For drugs that are delivered via subcutaneous injections, an injection pen can be a more accurate and convenient delivery system of insulin/medication into a diabetic bloodstream. Various injection pens for type 2 diabetes are available in the market, including disposable and durable pens. Disposable pens need to be replaced once the cartridge is emptied, while durable pens use replaceable cartridges.
Research Objectives
Frost and Sullivan’s research objective is to measure type 2 diabetic patients’ usage of injection pens throughout the United States. Specifically, the objectives guiding this research are listed below: