Closer to ideal insulin action: ultra fast acting insulins

Mimicking physiologic insulin action has been the main goal of diabetes therapy since the discovery of insulin. The evolution of insulin therapy from animal insulin to recombinant insulin analogs has improved diabetes treatment significantly over the course of years. Nevertheless, the rapid-acting insulin analog pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are still far from replicating physiologic insulin action resulting in poorly controlled after meal blood glucose levels. The slow action of insulin analogs has been a stumbling block for the development artificial pancreas systems that require a fast responding insulin to blood glucose changes. This review explains the rationale behind the undeniable need for ultra-fast acting insulins from a clinical and research perspective and summarizes ongoing and future projects to accelerate insulin action.