EIC » Treatment and Management

Diabetes cannot yet be cured, but it can be managed.6 With the proper diet,
exercise, regular blood sugar testing and treatment therapy, people living with
diabetes can lead full and active lives.

When left untreated or poorly controlled, diabetes can have serious
complications, including stroke, kidney disease, high blood pressure, blindness,
nerve problems and amputations. If detected early and treated properly,
complications can be prevented or delayed.

Good blood glucose control, or glycemic control has long been established as the
cornerstone of successful diabetes treatment, however many patients in the U.S.
are not achieving recommended A1C targets, which are a measure of a person’s
average blood glucose control for the past 2 to 3 months.

Adequate patient self-management has been identified as a critical
component for successful short- and long-term treatment of diabetes and
its complications.

For people living with diabetes, healthy eating, physical activity, blood glucose
and one or more diabetes medicines including, insulin, pills and other injectable
medicine to control blood glucose levels, are the basic management tools for
diabetes.

Insulin therapy, discovered nearly 90 years ago remains one of the most
significant discoveries in the field of medicine and continues to be a mainstay of
diabetes treatment as a way to reduce the risk of developing serious
complications.

Despite the effectiveness of insulin treatment, several factors have been
suspected to impact insulin usage, including needle anxiety, fear of
injection pain and inconvenience coupled with psychological barriers to
insulin initiation (e.g. social embarrassment).

Insulin plays an important role in managing diabetes. To get the full benefits of
insulin therapy, people with diabetes need to take it exactly as directed by their
physicians. For many patients, it will be important to choose an insulin delivery
method that works for their lifestyle, whether it be a vial and syringe or an easyto-
use insulin delivery device.

Insulin delivery devices are an integral part of diabetes treatment and the
successful outcome of treatment today; however, the adoption rates
among physicians and patients in the U.S. are still relatively low.

Today in the U.S only 17% of insulin units are delivered through insulin
pens (durable, refillable or prefilled disposable insulin pens) compared to
95% and 88% in Japan and Europe, respectively, according to a
September 2009 study.

Today there are approximately 10 insulin delivery pens available on the
market providing options to diabetes patients to help them actively
manage their own health.