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Updated: Apr 5, 2026

An In Ovo Model for Testing Insulin-mimetic Compounds
Published on: April 23, 2018
Why most oral insulin formulations do not reach clinical trials
Marlene Lopes1,2, Susana Simões1,2, Francisco Veiga1,2
1CNC Center for Neuroscience & Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.
Abstract:
Oral insulin able to induce an efficient antihyperglycemic effect either to replace or complement diabetes mellitus therapy is the major goal of health providers, governments and diabetic patients. Oral therapy is associated not only with the desire to exclude needles from the daily routine of diabetic patient but also with the physiological provision of insulin they would get. Despite numerous efforts over the past few decades to develop insulin delivery systems, there is still no commercially available oral insulin. The reasons why the formulations developed to administer insulin orally fail to reach clinical trials are critically discussed in this review. The principal features of nanoformulations used so far are also addressed as well as the undergoing clinical trials.
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