Multination drug companies are in a race to bring first to the market the `insulin puff' for diabetics which is expected to potentially substitute painful injections that are needed for the patient to get his daily dose of insulin.

At the moment, drug majors such as Eli Lilly, NovoNordisk and Pfizer are at work on this novel technique and the product could reach the market by 2004.

India is part of the global clinical trials that are under way for the `insulin puff' version developed by Eli Lilly, which has nearly half the global market share in diabetes related drugs.

The company plans to introduce in India a basal analog pre-mix, where the rapid acting insulin and another slow release one are pre-combined to ensure that the sugar levels, which normally fluctuate during the day are kept under control.

Clinical trials for the analog pre-mix, which is essential a mixture of Humalogs have been completed in India and the product would be launched next year.

These drugs would add to the rich list of options that Eli Lilly is providing to manage diabetes like Humalog Pen, Humalog, Actos, Humilin, Glucagon etc, which generate revenues of $ 1.38 billions out of the total turnover of $ 10 billions during 1999-2000.

Another exciting development in the offing concerns effective control of the dangerous complications of diabetes, which include blindness, damage to kidney and in some cases coronary artery disease. Eli Lilly is testing a Protein Kinase C-beta inhibitor (PKC), which is showing promising initial results in clinical trials now on in the US.

Researchers at the University of California have successfully grown insulin secreting cells. These cells tested in rats could well be transplanted in humans in the near future as they act as a good source for producing insulin to help in the control of diabetes.