The European Union drug regulator sided with manufacturers of Lantus, saying that reports the analog insulin causes cancer are inconclusive. This means the long-acting insulin will continue to be sold and prescribes as before in Europe, according to a report from Dow Jones Newswires.
The controversy started when a handful of reports were released last month raising the possibility that the drug significantly increases the risk of cancer in patients taking the drug. Sanofi-Aventis, the insulin’s maker, shot down the findings and later asked an independent panel of experts to weight in. The panel found the results to be inconclusive.
Then, last week the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use said that current data is inconclusive and that it would like to see more research done on the topic. Sanofi-Aventis said it would help with the research.
Lantus is considered an analogue insulin, or an artificial form of insulin. Patients typically take the drug in order to control their sugar levels between meals and overnight. Typically Lantus is taken in one or two shots daily.
