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Insulin Pen With Half-Unit Dosing Now Available in U.S. For Children and Young Adults

NovoPen Junior Is Designed For Easy, Accurate and Flexible Insulin Administration

PRINCETON, NJ -- January 7, 2003 -- Novo Nordisk today announced the availability of NovoPen® Junior, an insulin delivery system for children and adults that features half-unit dosing increments, which allows insulin doses to be finely tuned for patient needs. Designed to make insulin administration easy, accurate and flexible, NovoPen Junior is a line extension of the company's NovoPen®, the most widely used insulin pen in the world.

"NovoPen Junior fills an important need among children and young adults because it allows half-unit dosing," said Harold Starkman, MD, at the Pediatric Diabetes Center, Morristown Memorial Hospital, Morristown, NJ. He explained that, because of their small body size, many children with diabetes require only small amounts of insulin to maintain proper control -- with some requiring very finely tuned doses. "NovoPen Junior allows people with diabetes, particularly children and young adults, to administer insulin more accurately to meet their needs," he said.

Dr. Starkman said that the incidence of diabetes is increasing dramatically in children. "It's more important than ever before to make insulin therapy as easy and as accurate as possible for those who need it," he said. He added that the bright and colorful look of NovoPen Junior may encourage children to more easily accept and incorporate a daily insulin regimen into their lives.

NovoPen Junior is available in two fun colors, to help patients tell their different insulin types apart. Insulin therapy is administered with NovoPen Junior by dialing the dose, inserting the needle, and pushing the injection button. The dosage dial is graduated in half-unit markings and can administer from one to 35 units.

NovoPen Junior is designed for use with Novo Nordisk's range of PenFill® 3 mL cartridges, which contain 300 units of insulin. It is used with NovoFine® disposable needles, including NovoFine 31-gauge (6 mm) needles, whose design may help make insulin injections more comfortable.

NovoPen Junior is available as part of a complete diabetes management system. The NovoPen® Junior Diabetes Management System includes: NovoPen Junior, an interactive CD-ROM of games and activities that explain diabetes and its treatment, an instructional video and brochure, a parent Q&A booklet, NovoFine 31 disposable needles, and NovoPen®3 PenMate®, an automatic needle insertion device which hides the needle and is designed for quick, easy injections. Shown to significantly reduce pain perception(1), NovoPen 3 PenMate was considered easy to use by 84% (N=57) of patients in a study(1).

About diabetes
The prevalence of diabetes is skyrocketing in many countries around the world. In the United States, 17 million people, or 6.2 % of the population, have diabetes, with an estimated 5.9 million sufferers unaware they have the disease. Approximately 2,740 people are diagnosed with diabetes daily, and nearly 1 million people will be diagnosed this year. Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death by disease in the United States.(2)

Among North American children and adolescents, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes has been rising at a dramatic rate. Prevalence has been estimated at between 2 and 50 per 1000 in various populations, which represents as much as a ten-fold increase over the past two decades.(3)

NovoPen, PenMate, PenFill, and NovoFine are registered trademarks of Novo Nordisk A/S and are protected by U.S. patents and patents pending.

Always read the Instruction Manual for complete directions for use.

Novo Nordisk is a focused healthcare company and the world leader in diabetes care. In addition, Novo Nordisk has a leading position within areas such as hemostasis management, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy. Novo Nordisk manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and services that make a significant difference to patients, the medical profession and society.

With headquarters in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 17,900 people in 68 countries and markets its products in 179 countries. For further company information visit http://www.novonordisk.com.

References
(1) Diglas J, et al. Reduced pain perception with PenMate®, an automatic needle insertion device for use with an insulin pen. Data on file, Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

(2) American Diabetes Association website, http://www.diabetes.org. Basic Diabetes Information: Facts & Figures and National Diabetes Fact Sheet.

(3) Ludwig D and Ebbeling C. Type 2 diabetes mellitus in children: Primary care and public health considerations. JAMA 2001; 1427-1430.


SOURCE: Novo Nordisk

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