Commercial rather than technical hurdles ultimately torpedoed Novo Nordisk’s (NOVOb.CO) bid to make an oral form of insulin, its chief executive said on Wednesday, underscoring the impact of U.S. price pressure on the world’s top insulin supplier.
An insulin pill, saving diabetics from daily injections, has long been seen as the “holy grail” of diabetes care, yet the Danish group announced last month it was throwing in the towel after several years of work.
“We actually made a phenomenal scientific achievement in demonstrating to ourselves it is possible to have an insulin tablet,” Chief Executive Lars Rebien Sorensen told an industry conference.
