Humalog Junior KwikPen with Half-Unit Dosing Now Available in US
By Amelia Dmowska
Lilly’s Humalog Junior KwikPen offers 0.5 unit dose increments in prefilled, disposable device – a win for highly insulin sensitive users
Lilly’s Humalog Junior KwikPen hit the shelves of pharmacies across the US in early October, four months after Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The Junior KwikPen is currently the only prefilled, disposable mealtime insulin pen that allows for dosing in half-units of insulin. These features will help children who may require lower insulin doses, as well as adults and elderly individuals who may be more sensitive to insulin. It’s encouraging to see the half-unit dosing available in a disposable, prefilled pen.
Before the approval of the KwikPen, half units of insulin could only be dosed and delivered via pen through Novo Nordisk’s reusable NovoPen Echo. Since the KwikPen is prefilled, users will no longer need to remove and load cartridges to dose half-units.
The Humalog Junior KwikPen contains 300 units (3 mL) of the mealtime insulin Humalog (insulin lispro) and can dose up to 30 units in a single injection. In the US, the Humalog Junior KwikPen is sold in a five-count carton. BD pen needles are recommended by the manufacturer.
Lilly has submitted an application for approval of the pen in Europe. Though the decision is still pending, approval is expected later this year.
