October 19, 2007
Pfizer Stops Selling Inhaled Insulin

Less than two years after it was approved as an alternative to injectable insulin for diabetes patients, the inhaled drug Exubera is being withdrawn by its manufacturer, Pfizer, because the drug failed to win acceptance by patients and doctors. The Exubera inhaler, a large canister that many people found inconvenient to carry and use, and questions about whether patients received more or less insulin than they expected because of daily variations in lung capacity, were factors in the decision to withdraw the drug, Pfizer said. Sales of Exubera, which had been expected to be a blockbuster drug, were less than one percent of the insulin market, making it "one of the most expensive failures in the history of the pharmaceutical industry,”"according to the New York Times. The company said it is working with doctors to move all patients off Exubera within three months.