Hello people
After many years of using Humalog by Lilly, I've recently changed my bolus insulin to the slightly faster-acting Fiasp by Novo Nordisk (which so far seems to be working well). I was disappointed to find that Fiasp is not available in Australia in 3mL cartridges for reusable insulin pens it only comes in the 10ml vial for use with a syringe or in the prefilled FlexTouch pens. So I have started a small campaign to lobby for the 3mL cartridges to be made available and was hoping to enlist the support of the community to nag their local members (state and federal) and any other people they think might be useful, to encourage Novo Nordisk to supply Fiasp in the 3mL cartridge.
I have sent variations of the letter below to the Federal Minister for Health, the NSW mister for health, my local state and federal members, Novo Nordisk and Diabetes Australia. If you would like Fiasp in 3mL cartridges I encourage you to make your voice heard. With that in mind, I thought it might be useful to provide a copy of the letter that I have used that can be cut, pasted and modified as you see fit.
Dear _______
I am hoping to enlist your support in the following matter.
I am a Type one diabetic and have recently changed my bolus (mealtime) insulin from Humalog® produced by Eli Lilly (which I obtain in 3mL cartridges) to the slightly faster-acting Fiasp manufactured by Novo Nordisk. I am only able to obtain the Fiasp insulin in either a 10 mL vial for use with a syringe or a disposable prefilled insulin pen (FlexTouch) it is not at this time available in 3mL cartridges for use with a non-disposable insulin pen (either the NovoPen4 or the NovoPen Echo). Information online suggests that the 3mL cartridges of Fiasp are available overseas but on inquiring with Novo Nordisk they are not currently released in Australia with no information as to when they might become available.
The lack of a convenient 3mL cartridge is problematic for the following reasons; there is an inherent inconvenience for diabetics to use the 10 mL vials and syringe as they are cumbersome and not easily integrated into daily life, insulin pens are easily used and very transportable and the vast majority of Diabetics prefer them over syringes. The disposable prefilled insulin pen (FlexTouch) is convenient however there are several problems with the system that are avoided by using 3mL cartridges in reusable insulin pens.
- 1. Disposable prefilled pens are an unnecessary waste of materials, i.e. it is a lot of plastic and precision technology to discard on a regular basis.
- 2. They use up significantly more space in medical waste containers than a 3mL cartridge
- 3. A script of 5 packs of 5 disposable prefilled pens uses up considerably more space in a domestic refrigerator than 5 packs of 5 x 3mL cartridges.
- 4. Disposable prefilled pens are not as easy to transport and keep cool when travelling away from home for any length of time (holidays etc.) as a single insulin pen and a box of cartridges.
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To this end, I was hoping to enlist your support to lobby Novo Nordisk to make the 3mL cartridges (for the NovoPen4 and the NovoPen Echo) available to Australian diabetics as soon as it is practical.
Regards
Cheers, David
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David B.
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