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FDA Approves Fiasp, A Quick Mealtime Insulin, for Children

Updated: 8/14/21 1:00 amPublished: 1/13/20
By Eliza Skoler

By Eliza Skoler

FDA approval the fast-acting insulin for children means that children will have more flexibility in their mealtime insulin dosing

The FDA has approved Novo Nordisk’s Fiasp, a fast-acting, mealtime insulin, for children with diabetes over age two. Fiasp was approved in the US for adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in 2017. This approval brings an additional insulin option for children to keep their blood glucose levels in-range, particularly at mealtime.

While many fast-acting meal-time insulins need to be dosed before a meal, Fiasp does not have a pre-meal dosing recommendation. Fiasp can be taken before, at the beginning, or even within 20 minutes of starting a meal. This flexibility is due to the faster onset and offset of the insulin. That said, it is still strongly recommended that users take Fiasp before the start of the meal when possible, but the option to take it up to 20 minutes later does add flexibility if you need the extra time. 

This means that children and their families won’t have to guess (as much) about how much insulin to take before mealtime; instead, they can take insulin based on what they are eating, to manage their blood glucose levels more effectively. Learn more about Fiasp here.

 “Children can be unpredictable and having the option of a fast-acting insulin that doesn’t require pre-meal dosing like Fiasp is a welcome development for the diabetes community,” said Dr. Todd Hobbs, the vice president and chief medical officer of Novo Nordisk North America. At diaTribe, we are excited to see more options for children with diabetes.

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About the authors

Eliza Skoler joined The diaTribe Foundation in 2019, after graduating cum laude from Carleton College with a degree in Biology. Her undergraduate studies focused on human biology and neuroscience, and... Read the full bio »