A new „mealtime insulin“ has recently been launched on the market, which provides good glycemic control after the intake of a meal, especially for children and the elderly, but also in the context of gastrointestinal infections. It has been approved by the European Commission under the name Liumjev by the company Lilly. This is a particularly fast, so-called ultra-fast insulin, which is called ultra-rapid lispro or URLi for short. It is a further development of insulin lispro, but its onset of action is even faster. Mealtime insulins of this type with rapid onset of action and short duration of action are ideal for preventing blood sugar peaks in type 1 and 2 diabetics. This improves postprandial glycemic control so that hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels) after a meal (postprandial) is virtually eliminated. Hyperglycemia is a risk factor for late complications in diabetics of both types. It is important to avoid this at all costs, which is why doctors prescribe rapid insulins to achieve better blood sugar control for diabetics. In studies, too, ultra-fast insulin achieved top values in comparison with the insulin lispro, which is sold under the trade name Humalog. In the postprandial blood glucose monitoring of the PRONTO-T1D and PRONTO-T2D study program, the ultra-fast Liumjev is considered superior. However, both insulins have a similar safety and tolerability profile. Furthermore, there are no significant differences in the rate of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose concentrations), which can be difficult to control even at night, for both insulins. The composition of the insulins is different: Insulin URLi (Liumjev) contains ingredients that accelerate the absorption of insulin lispro in the body because Liumjev is an insulin lispro formulation containing citrate (salt of citric acid) and treprostinil, a vasodilator that has a vasodilating effect and thus causes rapid absorption of insulin lispro.
