Unlocking the opportunity of tight glycaemic control. Far from goal

The long-term benefits of providing intensive insulin therapy to control blood glucose levels have been demonstrated in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, achieving good glycaemic control in clinical practice continues to be a major challenge with only a small proportion of people with diabetes achieving current treatment goals. Some of the reasons for this include ineffectual diet and weight control initiatives, limited efficacy of therapeutic agents or association with excessive adverse events, delayed initiation of insulin therapy and poor patient acceptance and compliance with a regimen of multiple daily insulin injections. New ways of delivering insulin without the need for subcutaneous injections may overcome many of these limitations and thus help in the early adoption of insulin treatment by patients, assist in achieving and maintaining long-term optimal glycaemic control and improve patients' quality of life.