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SA JOURNAL OF DIABETES & VASCULAR DISEASE
DRUG TRENDS
VOLUME 13 NUMBER 1 • JULY 2016
49
Drug Trends in Diabetes
Diabetes is a global epidemic
Diabetes is one of the largest global health
emergencies of the 21st century.
1
Worldwide,
it is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease
(heart attacks and stroke), blindness, kidney
failure and lower-limb amputation.
1
The
International Diabetes Federation
Atlas
2015 figures reveal that almost 60 to
80% of patients suffering from diabetes die
before the age of 60 in sub-Saharan Africa.
Furthermore, diabetes accounts for almost
one out of every three deaths among the
economically active age group of 30 to 40
years.
1
Consequently, the economic burden
of diabetes in terms of healthcare costs and
loss of productivity is massive.
1
According to the International Diabetes
Federation, one in every 11 adults worldwide
and up to 2.28 million adults in South Africa
have diabetes.
1
Furthermore, due to increases
in economic development, urbanisation and
unhealthy lifestyle choices, these figures
are expected to rise dramatically in the
future.
1
Over the next 20 years, the current
population of some 14.2 million people with
diabetes in Africa will increase to over 34
million.
1
The most common type of diabetes is
type 2, which accounts for nine out of 10
cases.
1
Primarily caused by an unhealthy
diet, lack of physical activity and excess
body weight, type 2 diabetes can progress
undiagnosed for years. Around half of all
people with type 2 diabetes are unaware
that they have it.
1
Novo Nordisk at the forefront
of novel strategies to address
diabetes management
Clearly, effective strategies to identify and
treat diabetes, better access to medicines,
and awareness and education programmes
about healthy living to prevent new cases
are a healthcare priority. Globally, Novo
Nordisk is spearheading this drive, already
supplying around half of the world’s insulin.
Worldwide, about 24 million people with
diabetes rely on Novo Nordisk for their daily
medication. The company is at the forefront
of diabetes research, an attitude that has
been instrumental in developing a broad
Novo Nordisk holds the first new-generation insulin summit to
educate doctors on novel developments in diabetes management
range of diabetes medications and insulins,
and award-winning devices since Novo
Nordisk was founded in 1923.
2
Novo Nordisk leads the search for
patient-friendly solutions
In type 2 diabetes, careful control of blood
glucose levels can help reduce the risk
of cardiovascular, kidney, eye and nerve
disease. When this control is achieved early
on, the benefits remain for many years.
3
Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease.
Although dietary and lifestyle changes may
initially be effective in controlling blood
glucose levels, ultimately most people will
require escalating doses of medication and
many will require insulin.
4
Insulin is the most effective treatment to
controlbloodglucoselevels.Withappropriate
doses, it is possible to achieve target blood
glucose level control, depending on what is
required for an individual patient. However,
in practice, achieving and sustaining these
targets is very difficult, because people
with diabetes do not always adhere to
their treatment regimens and doctors may
be overly cautious, so that treatment is not
intensified when it needs to be.
5
Close to 40% of people with diabetes
report that daily medication interferes
with their ability to live a normal life.
6
This
is why Novo Nordisk focuses research on
individual solutions and personal needs in
order to improve diabetes control and make
treatments more efficacious, acceptable and
convenient.
2
New-generation insulin summit
As part of this commitment to seeking
solutions and ongoing education, Novo
Nordisk South Africa held the first new-
generation insulin summit in Cape Town on
14 May. Speaking at the summit, leading
local and international diabetes experts
shared advances in the understanding of
diabetes and its management with over
200 healthcare providers from around the
country, who were eager to learn how they
could improve the lives of their patients.
Summit session chairperson Prof
Brynne Ascot-Evans, head of the Division
of Endocrinology and Diabetes at the
University of Stellenbosch and Tygerberg
Academic Hospital, highlighted the global
epidemic of diabetes and its importance to
South Africans. Speakers included private
physicians, Dr Adri Kok and Dr Tanya
Kinvig, who spoke about the challenges
faced by both prescribers and patients,
with particular emphasis on those posed
by insulin therapy. They explained that even
with the availability of insulin, it is estimated
Prof Brynne
Ascott-Evans, Dr Zane Stevens, Dr Adri Kok