High Strength, Fixed Combination and Biosimilar Insulin Products: Minimising the Risk of Medication Error

A new document has been posted on the NECS MO website

High Strength, Fixed Combination and Biosimilar Insulin Products: Minimising the Risk of Medication Error. This is a briefing document which summarises the current guidance and recommendations on ways to minimise the risk of medication errors with newer insulin preparations.

A number of new insulin products have recently come to the UK market:
– Three high strength insulins which have concentrations greater than 100 units/mL:
o Insulin degludec 200 units/ml (Tresiba)
o Insulin lispro 200 units/ml (Humalog)
o Insulin glargine 300 units/ml (Toujeo)
– A biosimilar insulin
o Insulin glargine 100 units/ml biosimilar (Abasaglar) – launched August 2015
– A fixed combination of insulin with another medicine
o Insulin degludec 100 units/ml with liraglutide 3.6 mg/ml (Xultophy)

Also available as an unlicensed medicine in the UK is Humulin R U-500, containing 500units/ml. It is usually classed as a red drug (secondary care specialist only) in the UK and can be prescribed only on a named patient basis for use in a very small number of insulin resistant patients who require very high doses

A copy of the document can be found here