Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), a leading global medical technology company, has now launched BD Ultra-Fine III Nano—the world’s smallest pen needle in India. The BD Nano pen needle is proven to be as effective as longer needles for patients of all body types and proven to offer a less painful injection experience for people with diabetes who inject insulin or GLP-1 to manage their diabetes.

“BD is committed to helping improve the injection experience for the millions of people who live with diabetes, as demonstrated by our long history of innovative firsts--the first insulin syringe in 1924, the first 5 mm pen needle in 1999 and the now the world’s first 4 mm pen needle, the BD Nano,” said Diwakar Mittal, business manager, BD Medical – Diabetes Care, India. “We are confident that this tiny needle can have a big impact by easing diabetes patients’ transition and ongoing adherence to injectable drug therapy regimens.”

Studies suggest that as many as one-fifth to one-third of people with diabetes are hesitant or unwilling to give themselves insulin injections for reasons that include needle anxiety. Patients who reported injection-related pain or embarrassment intentionally skipped insulin injections. The short length (4 mm) and thin gauge (32 G) of the BD Nano pen needle may help people with diabetes adhere to an insulin injection regimen and improve outcomes with its comfort and ease of use.

“With the launch of BD Nano in India, we at BD believe that we will be able to allay the fear of injections for many and effectively contribute towards our commitment of helping all people live healthy lives. We firmly believe that convenience and safety are the key drivers that will recruit more people to start using insulin much sooner, before long-term health problems occur. This innovation in our BD portfolio will help patients to adhere to a better diabetes therapy and will be our contribution to early insulin initiation in India,” commented Manoj Gopalakrishna, managing director, BD India.

Clinical trials have demonstrated that insulin injections with the BD Nano pen needle provide equivalent glucose control to longer insulin pen needles. It effectively delivers an insulin dose to subcutaneous tissue (the layer of fat below the skin), the recommended site for insulin injections, while reducing the risk of injecting into muscle. Intramuscular injection can accelerate absorption and increase the risk of hypoglycaemia (abnormally low blood sugar). Subcutaneous injection allows the insulin to be absorbed at an appropriate rate, resulting in better glycaemic control.